The Keychain
by Marjorie Franklin
Summary: [Semi-AU] What if Aqua was able to take Ven back to Master Eraqus? Xehanort would get nowhere without him, & this simple action set a new future into motion. Hoping to change the course of fate, the Masters inform Terra & Aqua that they are victims of a powerful, predestined bond called a Keychain. Will they accept this intimate link or will their cruel fate truly be inevitable?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any part of Kingdom Hearts in any way, shape, or form. I own nothing!

* * *

_**The Keychain**_

_**Chapter 1**_

* * *

"_Listen to me, Ven… We need to get you home—" Aqua quickly stated once the Unversed was vanquished. _

"_It's okay, Aqua! Trust me, that guy in the mask is history. He'll never badmouth Terra again," Ventus explained coolly and confidently. _

"_You saw the boy in the mask?" Terra all but demanded as he took hold of Ven's shoulder, gripping it so tightly and with so much force the boy reeled backwards. _

_Aqua noticed Terra's fierceness, his aggression, his savage obsession that lingered between his words and manifested through his blunt actions. She wanted to confront it, she needed to confront it, but in that moment she was at a loss for words. _

"_Y-yes?" the youngest pupil answered with sweeping amounts of uncertainty and a touch of fear. _

"_Vanitas," the brunette said to himself. _

"_Ven. You let Aqua take you home," he continued. _

"_No way. I wanna go with you guys," the blonde Keyblade wielder feverishly objected. _

"_You can't. We have a dangerous task ahead of us. I don't want you to get hurt," Terra responded. _

"_And what is this dangerous task, Terra?" Aqua questioned cynically. "It doesn't sound like what the Master told you to do." _

_The female Keyblade Master's eyes reluctantly rose to meet his. _

"_It might be a different route, but I'm fighting the darkness," the bronze warrior attempted to assure her. _

"_I'm not so sure. I've been to the same worlds as you and I've seen what you've done." Aqua's eyes wandered over the blue material of the reactor beneath her feet. "You shouldn't put yourself so close to the darkness." _

"_Listen to yourself, Aqua. Terra would never—" _

"_You mean you've been spying on me?" Terra bit back and the fact that his tone changed was not lost on her. _

"_Is that what he said to do? The Master's orders?" he was asking questions he already knew the answers to. _

_There was so much pain and hurt in his indigo eyes while he questioned her but she stubbornly tried her best to ignore it. _

"_He was only—" she finally looked away. She couldn't take him looking at her like that, she thought she could but she couldn't. It was like she felt his pain, the betrayal he felt… Could she actually feel what he felt? Was that possible? It certainly felt like it. _

"_Aqua," Ven looked over at her. _

"_I get it," the dark young man's voice was low, almost a whisper. _

"_Terra!" Ventus called after Terra when he saw the torment Aqua both saw and felt within their dear friend. The pain she had ruthlessly, mercilessly, and savagely caused. _

"_Just stay put!" Terra roared without looking back at his companions. He clealry didn't want their sympathy nor could he stand looking at them anymore…specifically __**her**__. _

"_I'm on my own now, all right?" he declared boldly and without hesitation. _

_His words caused Aqua to recoil._

_ No, that wasn't what she wanted at all! She didn't mean to hurt him; at least she didn't** think** she did. She just wanted him to open his eyes, to see what he was doing. She did it to help. She was just trying to be a good Master…to keep the balance…to protect him from himself…_

"_Terra, please listen!" she cried and fought the powerful and almost uncontrollable urge to run to him. "The Master has no reason to distrust you, really! He was just worried." _

"_You're awful, Aqua," Ven said matter of factly, and he was right. Aqua completely concurred; she __**was **__awful. _

"_So now you know the truth," she sighed once she got a hold of herself. "But the Master loves Terra and you know that too." _

"_Were you also 'ordered' to take me home?"_

_She didn't answer the boy's question. _

"_Aqua…now that you've become a Keyblade Master, you've let it go to your head. I'm gonna go find Terra."_

* * *

Aqua jolted awake, covered in a cold sweat as her dream forced her to relive that day over and over again. Tears she didn't recall giving permission to stream down her face mercilessly cascaded down the contours of her cheeks. Her chest burned, as did her eyes and even her bones while her mangled guts coiled with guilt.

"You're awful, Aqua," she coarsely chided herself, parroting her friend's harsh, yet traumatically true words in the stale blackness of early morning.

Another restless night, Aqua never slept anymore, not really. She would go to sleep then she was either plagued by unpleasant, agonizing memories or by appalling nightmares. When she closed her eyes, she saw nothing but darkness, Unversed, tawny eyes, and χ-blades. That man, gone, but forever present in her nightmares. His face, the words in his reports, and the mask of his demonic student had been forever engraved into her corneas.

Aqua sat upright in bed when she assumed she had obtained enough sleep to sustain herself. She had learned to live off little to no sleep.

The Keyblade Master rubbed her aching head and massaged her throbbing temples. As she shifted in bed, the dry rustling of Xehanort's reports made her cringe. She had fallen asleep reading them…again.

Silently, she picked up the scattered pages of what had become the bane of her existence for the past three years. The damned pages mocked her, haunted her, and sadistically laughed at her. Aqua was convinced the clue to where Xehanort was hiding was in those pages…but for the life of her, she couldn't find that clue, no matter how many times she read the twisted, bone-chilling, ravings of that old, sick, and demented man.

Sometimes, Aqua thought _she_ was the one that was demented. Maybe she was trying to find logic in a report that lacked any and all logic. Perhaps she couldn't find the answers she sought because they were not to be found within those blighted pages. Maybe they were just the incoherent ravings of a mad man who had gone off the deep end years ago, but light help her she couldn't stop reading them, no matter how painful and hair-raising it got.

It didn't matter how many times she read them, when she read of what he wanted to do to Terra and Ven…she would get light headed and downright sick to the point where she felt she would surely lose _everything _in her stomach or pass out.

The more twisted and curious part of her couldn't help but wonder what he planned on doing with _her_…kill her she supposed. However, the thought of him killing her paled in comparison to the fear, anger, and sorrow she felt for what had almost happened to her dearest friends…her counterparts…her companions…those that meant the most to her.

Aqua hated Master Xehanort. She had never hated anyone in her life until she read those reports she had slowly obtained during her travels.

Hate was something the Master had taught her to disavow for it beckoned the darkness…but she just couldn't help it. She _hated_ that man. She hated Xehanort and she wished him dead. He deserved it for all he had done and for all that he wanted to do. She hoped he had gone off to die. She hoped that was the reason why he had seemingly vanished into thin air three years ago, but she knew that wasn't the case. He was out there somewhere…waiting…plotting…probably writing more twisted reports just like the ones she gathered off the blue surface of her bed.

Shaking hands touched the page that spoke of Terra. Bloodshot eyes of blue shut tightly as she tried her best to not read the blasphemous, harrowing page… Although she didn't physically read it, the memory of the words on the page sang to her within her head. A wicked lullaby whose lyrics and music notes had been forever hammered into her eardrums and formed deep, cavernous wrinkles in her brain…

_I had not visited this second home of mine for some time, and discovered Eraqus had already two pupils of his own. Within one of them, Terra, I sensed something. The boy, though well-intentioned, seeks power single-mindedly. And that kind of hunger is a seedbed for darkness._ _I had found my vessel. _

The blue maiden wanted to rip that cursed page to shreds as if it could somehow keep that fate from ever transpiring, as if it could keep Xehanort from ever laying a foul hand on Terra. But before she could she was reading it again…

_The time has come. I have received word from Eraqus that his pupils are to become true Keyblade Masters. Terra and Aqua...They will be easy now to lure into the outside world. But Ventus! I will get nowhere without him._

_Vanitas can feel some of what Ventus feels, and he says Terra is the key. Ventus has loved Terra like a real brother ever since he let him keep his old wooden Keyblade. It seems we have found a loose thread at which we can tug to unravel Ventus's heart._

_The first step is to get Terra alone; then we need to plant the seeds of doubt in Ventus. Let him carry his faint light as he chases his brother into the darkness._ _Let the darkness make his light stronger, then let the light deepen the darkness. And where the two finally meet is where the stuff of legends will become real. _

With a heavy heart and a heavy sigh, Aqua put the worn pages in order and placed them on her white nightstand before she succumbed to temptation and set them all on fire.

It was so scary to think about how close they came to oblivion… Xehanort had come so close…

Aqua shuddered at the thought and took her sleeping Wayfinder off the nightstand, trying to use it to distract herself because she couldn't think about that. She couldn't think about how close they were to…

No, she just _couldn't _think about it. Her mind refused. It hurt too much. It didn't come to pass and it wasn't real so why couldn't she keep herself from thinking that it was? Probably the nightmares.

Aqua had dreams, dreams where these events transpired, where Terra and Xehanort merged, where Ventus and Vanitas formed the χ-blade, and where she was left alone and cold in a bitter, blackened world she had never laid eyes on before. Walking…always walking…aimlessly and ceaselessly walking in darkness for eternity while her friends wasted away, forever out of her reach...where she would never be able to find or help them…

"It's not real…it's not real…" she desperately tried to convince herself, hoping that saying it aloud would offer her solace and reassurance, two sensations that she hadn't felt in years. She was always unnerved, always worried, always on the threshold of completely and utterly miserable or insane, she wasn't sure which.

"It's not real...it's not real...it's not real" the young woman chanted like mantra while she instinctively squeezed her Wayfinder so tightly in her hand that she almost drew blood.

Subconsciously, Aqua rubbed her sore throat with her free hand and fought the haunting, metaphysical constriction that tightened around her neck. Although she hadn't dreamt of a silver-haired Terra with gleaming golden eyes strangling her to death, she still rubbed her throat and almost felt the memory… That dream was the worst and the one that seemed to linger the longest and haunted her the most…

The Master almost had a heart attack when he heard her muted screams that cut through the night terror and coarsely penetrated into reality. The screams could be heard throughout the Land of Departure as if they emerged from the rasping throat of a banshee. And once the screeching stopped, the marks remained on her throat…as if his hand had truly attempted to squeeze her breath and life right out of her.

Bruises that no Curaga spell could disperse marred the skin of her neck for hours…

Putting an end to her self-induced torment, Aqua got out of her bed to attempt to prepare for a new day. It would be a new day full of the same redundancy she had endured for the past three years, a winding, dizzying rut of chasing ghosts or waiting for ghosts.

Aqua tenderly put her precious Wayfinder in her pocket and put on her usual clothes before she unhurriedly exited her room, her childhood room, and the room she inhabited when she wasn't out on duty in other worlds.

The female Keyblade Master quietly walked through the castle and figured she would journey to the Summit and practice a bit before the rest of the castle woke. Once everyone rose, she would go to ask Master Eraqus if he had any tasks for her and Ven, and if he didn't she would probably decide to venture out on her own and chase ghosts…

If Aqua were honest with herself, she would admit that she didn't want to receive that look from her Master, the look of sympathy, sorrow, and confusion. The look that said so much without him uttering a word, but still said everything that he had said to her many times before.

'_Why do you stay? You know you don't have to.' _

'_Did you have another night terror?'_

'_You know, you can obtain pupils of your own.'_

'_What is wrong, Aqua?'_

'_You shouldn't blame yourself. You need to let go of this guilt.' _

'_Why don't you go to some of the other worlds and try to enjoy yourself?' _

Master Eraqus wanted her to attempt to take on some form of normalcy during their limited time of fragile peace, but she couldn't. She couldn't stop thinking that Ven needed her…and she couldn't keep herself from waiting for Terra to come back home…

The female Keyblade Master had this absurd notion in her head that Terra would come home and when he did, she wanted to be there. He would come back to her…he had to… Her heart demanded it…they needed him…_she _needed him. Home wasn't home to her without him.

Before she could journey to the Summit, a very chipper Ventus greeted her at the castle steps and she forged a smile that didn't reach her eyes. She hadn't_ really_ smiled since…_that night_, the night before the Mark of Mastery exam.

"Good morning, Ven. You are up early."

"Yeah...I, uh, had some stuff to do," he nervously rubbed the back of his neck, earning a him a perplexed look from his cerulean comrade.

"Did you sleep okay last night?" Ven asked, quickly changing the subject. His look of concern didn't go unnoticed.

"Not really. I had the dream about Radiant Garden again," she confessed as she continued her trek down the massive, lavender stairwell that led visitors to the castle's entrance. Silently, she motioned for her companion to follow her.

"The memory one?" he asked. "It's been a while since you had that one."

"Yeah, I managed to wake myself up before you told me that you found Terra but he was gone…"

Aqua was glad she had woken up before it got to that point in the recurring dream. To her, that was the worst part, hearing Ventus tell her that Terra was gone…

"You really need to stop beating yourself up about that," the blonde Keyblade wielder shook his head as he looked at her solemnly.

"Maybe I should have gone after him. Maybe I should have sent you back home by yourself instead of coming back with you…"

Ven chuckled. "I wouldn't have gone unless you went with me."

"Still…I can't help but wonder what would have happened if I would have gone after him instead of taking you home. Maybe…maybe he would be here with us now if I had…"

"Or maybe none of us would be here," Ventus remarked darkly.

Aqua giggled in spite of herself. "True, but I suppose it doesn't matter now. I can't undo what has been done."

"Nope, so you're stuck with me!" Ven smiled at her as she continued to walk towards the Summit.

"Whoa! Hey!" he cried and chased after her before blocking her advance with his body. "Where are you going?"

"To the Summit to spar. Wanna come?" she glanced back at him.

"No, you can't go!"

"Why not? What's wrong?" she asked and Ven could see the panic in her sky blue eyes. He didn't like how she automatically expected the worst and instantly went into panic mode the instant anyone said something that was somewhat out of the ordinary.

"N-nothing. You just need to come back to the castle with me," he explained and fought the mischievous grin that threatened to consume his face.

"Okay." Aqua crossed her arms. "What do you know that I don't?"

Ventus was now a handsome eighteen-year-old but he would always be like her little brother. His face had lost its childlike quality and had become more angular, but he still had his slender build; he had gained more height than girth. His height had surpassed her own but she still had ways of making him feel three inches tall, and the look she was giving him now was one of those ways.

"Oh, nothing. Just that Master Yen Sid is here and he and Master Eraqus want to see you right away." He smirked again.

Aqua merely nodded. "Oh, well, I guess I should go greet our guest. Thank you for informing me of his visit."

"Sure thing!" Ventus beamed like a child.

The young woman could help but notice how he had maintained his childlike optimism and innocence in spite of everything. She loved that about him, even envied it a bit because she wasn't sure if she could handle the unfairness that had been forced onto him because of Master Xehanort's madness.

Because of the plan involving the χ-blade and the fact that both Xehanort and Vanitas were still out there somewhere, Ventus wasn't allowed to grow too strong or to become a Master. Master Eraqus offered him as many freedoms as he could, but that wasn't much. He trained, sparred, and frequently visited other worlds with Aqua but because Ven was growing and maturing and since Xehanort, Vanitas, and the χ-blade were still a frightening possibility, precautions had to be made and strict limits had to be set.

It wasn't fair…but life wasn't really fair… No, it definitely wasn't fair but Aqua couldn't help feeling like this was better over the alternative. Surely this was better than Ventus being lost or killed to create this χ-blade… Aqua hoped that Ven understood that they did what they did because they loved him and they wanted to protect him, not out of cruelty or to punish him for something that clearly wasn't his fault.

Damn Xehanort. _Damn_ him. If it weren't for that devilish man they wouldn't have to live in fear. They wouldn't have to take such unfair precautions and they wouldn't have to live life constantly looking over their shoulders and perpetually walking on eggshells.

Aqua frequently wondered about what could have been. What if they were able to stop him? Would Terra be with them? Would he and Ventus be the amazing Masters she always knew they could be? Would she be happy? Would she still feel as diseased as she does now? Would she be able to sleep in peace without wondering which dream would torment her next?

Shaking her head, the blue maiden regained her Master's air. She put on her professional face and posture as she prepared to face the Masters.

The nimble young woman walked through the corridor of glimmering, vibrant stained glass with a quiet, composed Ven on her heels. Her silver, armored shoes clinked loudly against the golden flooring she had waltzed upon thousands of times before.

"Good morning, Master Aqua." Eraqus smiled at her when she reached the steps leading to the dais of thrones, his silvery eyes shimmering with warmth and compassion as he regarded her.

"Good morning, Master, Master Yen Sid," she bowed gracefully as Ventus mimicked her actions at her side. "I apologize for my tardiness, I wasn't aware we had company."

"That is quite alright. No harm done." Master Eraqus bobbed his head. "But we do have a task for you."

"Ventus." The Master cast his gaze back to the blonde young man beside her. "Can you give us a moment to talk to Aqua alone?"

"Of course, Master," Ven bowed and the way he held himself reminded Aqua of Terra. She could tell he still idolized Terra and tried follow in his footsteps.

"I'll see you later," Ventus smiled and patted Aqua's shoulder causing her to beam up at him before he exited.

"I do not mean to be disrespectful…" Aqua began once Ven exited the throne room. "but why can't Ventus be present during my briefing?"

Aqua was_ very_ protective of Ventus and she did everything she could to make sure he was included in everything since he was frequently held back by the bitter grip of fate and even her own unintentionally traitorous hands.

If Ventus could do something without endangering himself and in turn endangering countless others, Aqua wanted him to do it. She wanted him to spread his wings as much as possible although she knew he would never be able to truly do so with Xehanort lingering in the shadows.

"We have already spoken to Ventus and we have decided that this assignment is to be yours alone," Master Eraqus answered confidently as he stood regally before her.

"And what assignment is that, Master?"

"Master Yen Sid and I have important news regarding you and Terra," the black-haired Master continued and Aqua's eyes widened and her heart clenched at that name. Anytime _his_ name was spoken aloud, it caused her physical pain. "We want you to go to Traverse Town and ask Terra to come here, to the Land of Departure, so we can speak to both of you about this matter in person."

Aqua recoiled.

"I-I still don't understand… Why can't Ven come with me? Surely we would have better chance of convincing him to return if we spoke to him together. The three of us-"

"Aqua," Yen Sid spoke up from his seat in one of the three thrones, "We wouldn't ask you to do this alone if we didn't feel it was a necessity."

Aqua closed her burning eyes and took a deep, shaky breath. This terrified her. She didn't want to go alone. She and Terra hadn't parted on good terms… She hadn't spoken to Terra since their fight in Radiant Garden three years ago, since he realized the Master had sent her to '_spy'_ on him right before she had returned home with Ventus and right before Xehanort, Vantitas, and the Unversed vanished.

"Of course." She straightened her posture and tried to keep her spiraling emotions in check. She had to be professional, she had to be strong, and she had to be a Keyblade Master. "I would never question your decisions. I shall leave right away."

"And do not worry about Ventus," Master Eraqus quickly added, "He agreed that you should do this alone. He said that he would eagerly await your return. He also insisted you bring him back as soon as possible since he will not be venturing to Traverse Town with you."

Aqua smiled and nodded. They were not telling her everything but she assumed she would be informed in time. It was not her place to question their decisions or reasoning and definitely not her place to go against Ven's wishes.

The azure Keyblade Master bowed before exiting the castle and going to find Ventus.

"Ven?" she called as she scurried out of the castle and descended the oversized steps outside.

She saw the blonde young man sitting at the foot of the towering stairwell, swinging his Keyblade at the air around him.

His ears perked up as her blissful voice pierced the silence around him. He excitedly stumbled to his feet, turned, and ran to the stairs to meet her.

"So?! How excited are you?!" Ventus cried and practically jumped out of his shoes.

This was truly puzzling. Why was he so excited about her going after Terra_ alone_? She was sure he would want to come with her to retrieve their old friend for a meeting with the Masters. She expected him to be upset, not _excited_ that she was going alone.

"I'm…nervous…" she shamelessly confessed as her eyes fell to his feet and she resisted the urge to hold her Wayfinder. "Why don't you want to come with me?"

"Oh, don't misunderstand me. I want to see Terra more than anything, but after talking with the Masters…and given the way you and Terra left things… I-I know how guilty you feel…and I just thought that it would be best if you two talked it out without me. You know, the way you two used to do when you fought."

With a dejected sigh, Aqua nodded.

It was clear Ven wasn't a child anymore. This was a very selfless and mature decision and impressive evaluation on his part. He had always been more mature in regard to the whole Terra situation, but then again, it was easier for him to be. They had parted on better terms and Ven even visited him in Traverse Town from time to time.

Now that she thought about it, she was the only one that hadn't seen or confronted him since Xehanort's mysterious_ second_ disappearance. Yen Sid spoke to him more than anyone while she and Eraqus maintained a strained relationship with the bronze warrior… She didn't expect anything less. In Terra's eyes, they had betrayed him… The overwhelming sense of failure and the stubborn notion that he was unfit to face _any_ of them after what he had done and what he had almost done didn't help things either. The whole situation was…messy to say the least.

"You two can work it out and who knows! Maybe he will finally come home for good after this. If anyone can convince him that he is worthy of returning home, it is you…and Master Eraqus," he quickly added the Master at the end of his sentence and Aqua raised a skeptical blue brow at him. "Yen Sid and I have tried but…"

Aqua nodded so Ven would know that he didn't have to say anything else and that she understood. Terra was nothing if not stubborn.

"I will try my best!" she grinned and Ventus embraced her.

"Be careful, okay? And hurry back! The three of us have some serious catching up to do."

She could tell he was thinking that things would go back to normal…why he thought that was beyond her…

_Don't hold your breath, _she thought to herself but kept the pessimistic statement to herself.

The blue maiden couldn't figure out why he was so happy and optimistic. If he couldn't convince Terra that he was worthy of coming home, what made him think that _she _could? Why would Terra listen to her? Even if she_ could_ somehow convince him to speak with the Masters, she seriously doubted Terra would stay. He would probably listen to the news, the assignment, whatever it was the Masters wanted to speak with them about, and bolt. Ven knew this as well as she did and yet he was optimistic which only fueled her suspicion that he knew something she didn't.

* * *

"Thank you again for coming all this way for us, Master Yen Sid," Eraqus expressed his gratitude as he took a seat in the throne next to the sorcerer. "I apologize for bringing you further into this, but I really don't know what else to do… I am at wit's end. Aqua seems to be getting worse every day and...and Terra…"

"How are her dreams?" Yen Sid changed the subject before his fellow Master could trek further into depressing territory.

"About the same, I suppose. She doesn't speak to me about them unless I confront her about them. She doesn't say so…but I think she has them every night. You saw her eyes…it looks like she never sleeps…"

"The night terrors should go away when she is reunited with her counterpart. The dreams are the link's way of trying to tell her that she needs to go to him. I am sure Terra is experiencing some form of suffering as well. They will continue to suffer if they continue to deny and strain their Keychain."

"I wasn't aware that Keychains could be so…_aggressive._" Master Eraqus's brow furrowed.

"Each one is different and it also depends on the type of Keychain they have. If it is obligational, then the link will tighten and torture those involved as the need for the Keychain intensifies and if it is romantic, being apart would essentially torture them in the same way. However, romantic Keychains are eternal while obligational Keychains only last until the conflict or task that caused the Keychain to be created is completed," Yen Sid explained coolly and stroked his long beard as he reclined in the throne.

"Which do you think they have?" Eraqus asked and he found himself sounding more like a concerned parent than a Master.

"Hmmm, there are a wide range of possibilities and I know very little of Keychains because they are so rare but if I had to guess, I would say this is probably an obligational Keychain, one that was birthed out of the need to put an end to this pending or _postponed_ conflict with Xehanort. Their Keychain is probably destiny's way of protecting them from external forces and even from their own powers."

"I truly hope this can make a difference… It seems fate has decided to put matters into its own hands, I just hope Terra and Aqua can accept it."

"It doesn't matter if they do or not, Eraqus. It already exists. You have seen that yourself. You see Aqua's torment. She feels it and experiences side effects of resisting it although she is unaware of its existence. To be blunt, they have no choice in the matter. It is predestined. Fate has formed this union for them."

* * *

Dismounting her Keyblade glider, Aqua released a belated yawn. The ride to Traverse Town took longer than expected and she was tired, but she was _always _tired…considering she never really slept. Such was her life now; a life full of perpetual sleep deprivation, but it was only one of the many symptoms of her unknown ailment; the unidentified disease that slowly ate away at her aching soul.

Pushing the depressing and gloomy thoughts away, Aqua dispersed her armor, revealing the simple clothing underneath.

Before she left the Land of Departure, she had changed into civilian clothing, a white tank top and jeans to be precise. The young woman had learned during her recent travels that people were growing more suspicious and she had begun changing her attire to try to match the culture of the world she visited. She had to keep the order and the secrecy of other worlds but with advancing technology and curious individuals, that was becoming harder and harder to do.

Aqua laced her fingers, held her arms over her head, and stretched out her rigid muscles and the stiffness that crept into her muscles while she sat atop her glider. While stretching, she walked through the outskirts of glowing town of neon and approached the First District.

As she walked through the town of perpetual night, she saw why Terra was drawn to it. It was quant but lively, busy but not too noisy or cumbersome, big but not_ too_ big. Should she live to retire, as Master Yen Sid had, she would want to relocate to an area like this one. Somewhere where she could spend the rest of her days in peace, however, she would prefer an area that experienced daylight.

Aqua's feet slowly began to turn to stone as she approached the spacious Second District where she knew Terra lived…at least, that was what Yen Sid had told her. He lived here when he wasn't out protecting the balance and seeing other worlds and she hoped she would catch him between worlds so this trip wouldn't be in vain…or prolonged if she chose to wait there for him.

Her heart grew as heavy as did her feet while she climbed the steps and made her way through the small crowds of giggling children and gossiping adults.

Once she reached the hotel, she entered through its luminous, yellow dual doors.

She was so nervous she was shaking and felt like she might get sick.

"Can I help you?" a kind voice called causing Aqua to yelp like a girl and jump out of her skin.

She fought the urge to summon Rainfell as she turned to address the voice. It was merely the innkeeper, a kind looking man with blue-gray eyes, brown hair, dressed in a tidy, blue blouse.

_Not a threat, just a civilian, _Aqua assured herself.

"Oh!" the young Keyblade Master cried and held a trembling hand over her hammering heart. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to be rude…I've just been a bit jumpy lately."

The innkeeper grinned. "No, it was my fault for not being more considerate of my guest."

Honestly, she hadn't even realized she had made her way down the hotel's long hallway to the counter so it surprised her to see and hear someone addressing her. Physically, she had walked to the counter but emotionally she was about a thousand worlds away.

"So, Miss, how can I help you?"

"I'm looking for a friend of mine. I was told he was staying here. He is tall, he has brown hair, dark blue eyes, and…" she started to say dark but she was trying to stop using that word to describe him.

"Terra?" the hotel owner inquired as he drummed his fingers on the sleek wood of the front desk.

"Yes, sir." Aqua nodded.

She didn't want to say his name right away. There was a possibility that Terra was using an alias now and if he was, she didn't want to be throwing his real name around. However, Terra seemed to be taking a blunt approach as always. She prayed that this hadn't come back to haunt him… It was dangerous to for him to be throwing his real name around while Xehanort was still out there, probably searching for him…his _vessel._

"He stays in the green room down the hall when he is here…but he isn't here much." the man shrugged.

"That's all I need to know. Thank you so much." Aqua beamed at the hotel owner before she turned to venture down the hallway to the green room.

The fact that it had been so easy to figure out where Terra was staying did nothing to ease her frazzled nerves. Terra was a big boy and could easily take care of himself but Aqua couldn't help but worry about him. She worried about him every minute of every day.

Him being on his own worried her because that was what Xehanort wanted. According to his reports, that was the first thing he needed to do: get Terra alone.

Mark one up for Xehanort; Terra was alone.

'_I'm on my own now, all right?' _he had shamelessly declared and he had meant it. From that day on…he was and had been on his own.

Shaking her head as if it could erase the thought, she continued down the hallway to the door of the green room. When she reached his door, her hand timidly flattened against its wooden contours. She gingerly caressed its ridges as if she could touch_ him_ through it, as if she could affectionately touch him without spurring confusion and anger in him.

Sky blue eyes closed and she traced the outlines of the door and she could almost see him by simply touching what he had touched.

It was cold…it had been a while since he had been there. The trail was stale and hard to follow but she had picked up on it nonetheless. He was hard to see and he was smothered in shadows, so she couldn't get a good impression of what he looked like now.

Realizing she was being strange and downright peculiar, she snatched her hand away from the door as if it had burned her.

What _was_ that? How did she know touching the door would work as a form of link between her and Terra? How did she know that she could essentially touch him by touching what he touched? She supposed it was some Keyblade hocus pocus that she didn't understand or know of…or maybe it was the magic in her Wayfinder or her own magic for that matter. She was always doing weird mage things subconsciously…

Oh well, it didn't matter; she just needed to just knock on the door instead of _touching_ it.

This was it. He was either on the other side of this door or he wasn't…a part of her preferred the latter… Correction: the coward in her preferred the latter.

_No, I'm not a coward! _she proclaimed privately.

She took her Wayfinder from her pocket for assurance, courage, and comfort before she knocked on the door.

_Eek! Why did I do that? _she quickly contradicted herself and glared at the hand that had betrayed her.

Her heart was going to bludgeon its way right out of her chest she just knew it. It was going to beat right through her sternum then it would plummet to the floor and rest at her feet. Then, when Terra opened the door, he would crush it beneath his armored boot…

After what seemed like hours, there was no answer. Swallowing her pride and her burbling fears again, she knocked on the door a second time.

She waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited, but he didn't answer.

Of course he didn't, that would be too easy. Why would he answer her now? Why would he come to her now after refusing to do so all these years? Why did she expect him to answer her pained, desperate cries for him now?

Aqua folded her arms and tapped her chin.

What was she going to do now? Should she stay and wait for him? How long would she have to wait? Her subconscious told her forever because it seemed like that was all she ever did anymore…she waited for Terra to return to her but he never did. Did she need to go home and inform the Masters she couldn't locate him? Was failure an option with this _task? _How important was this task? Was this even a task? It seemed more like a request.

The Keyblade Master assumed she had a few more hours to kill. She figured she could enjoy the sights of the city a while before visiting his room again. She would try again, then she would return home with or without him.

With a heavy exhale, Aqua turned on her heels, gently placed her Wayfinder back in her pocket, and journeyed back down the seemingly endless hallway.

She exited through the double doors and violently crashed into something that felt like a lot like rock wall.

Grunts erupted from her throat and the throat of the boulder she collided with as she collapsed into its warm, yet sturdy chest.

_Wait…boulders can't grunt…and they definitely don't have warm chests…_

"I'm so sorry. I guess I wasn't watching where I was going," a deep, sincere voice apologized as painfully familiar arms loosely embraced her and chivalrously helped steady her.

Her voice failed her as she realized who held her and who was speaking to her. It was _him. _She had finally found _him. _

Instinctively, her hands gripped fistfuls of the black t-shirt he wore. Her scalding eyes closed and she pressed her cheek to his well-muscled chest, listening to his strong heartbeat.

For the first time in years, she was soothed. His touch offered her relief. She actually felt comforted. It was like someone had _finally_ cast Curaga upon a huge gaping wound that had mercilessly tortured her for years. Her nerves no longer felt scraped and raw and her soul no longer ached. She wasn't worried about _anything_ anymore and she felt like she could finally close her eyes and sleep…really sleep.

Her knuckles blanched as she gripped the ebony fabric that covered his torso, holding onto it for dear life before he realized who she was, before he realized who clung to him. It wouldn't be long now before he noticed her blue head and he would know. He would pry her off of him and the dull ache that persistently tormented her would return. That disease would reestablish its hold and her bones would burn, her muscles would sting, and her nerves would curl in discomfort as her body seemed to reject itself.

Aqua needed to stop, she knew that but it had just been so long since she had seen him or felt his presence, and even longer since she had actually _touched_ him. The beautiful hum of his vocal chords against her cheek was heavenly.

Oh, how much she had missed him! She missed him so much that the mere thought of letting him go now that she had finally been reunited with him made her feel like she would die were she to be separated from him again.

All at once she felt him stiffen against her. His chest rose and expanded as he took in a sharp breath.

He knew.

"Aqua?"

* * *

_**A/N: Thanks so much for reading! **_

_**I have been toying with this idea for a while and I was finally able to get all my thoughts together enough to make the first chapter. It is a what if story and my bizarre depiction of what would have happened if Aqua would have taken Ven home after their reunion in Radiant Garden instead of going after Terra and just telling Ven to go home like she did in the game. So this story is set three years after Aqua went home with Ventus.**__** I know it is probably a bit confusing right now but this it will make more sense later! **_

_**Thanks again for reading! I appreciate it and I hope you enjoyed it!**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any part of Kingdom Hearts in any way, shape or form!

* * *

**_Chapter 2_**

* * *

"Aqua?" Terra reeled and his body went rigid when he saw the familiar head of luminous blue against his chest.

Why was she here? Whatever it was, it couldn't be good. Terra's mind automatically went back to the time they bumped into each other and she told him that Ven had run away from home and he started to panic.

Blinking rapidly, Aqua released Terra's shirt and pulled herself away from the chest she had crashed into. She felt his hands holding onto her shoulders as he helped her detach herself from him.

"Hi, Terra." She timidly smiled up at him and hesitantly allowed herself to make eye contact with him.

"What are you doing here?" the young man asked as he held her out at arm's length. "What's happened?"

Aqua loathed how professional this was already. Apparently, she didn't even warrant a hello.

She stood upright, straightening her suddenly poor posture, regaining her balance, and brushing off her clothes as she slowly retrieved her senses.

"Oh, nothing has happened," she began coolly explaining as her eyes wandered over his form.

Like Ventus, he had continued to grow while she had reached her physical pinnacle long before they did. However, Terra's growth wasn't as dramatic as Ven's considering she and Terra had done most of their growing already. Terra had mainly grown in width. The man before her had possibly gained a few inches but had _definitely_ become more muscular. Clearly, he had no trouble filling out the tight, black long sleeve shirt he was wearing.

He looked more like a man than a teenager.

"Everything is fine," the blue-haired maiden continued but she used the word '_fine' _lightly. In reality, things were as fine as they could be, which wasn't very fine at all.

Terra released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding as his hands slipped off her cool, bare shoulders.

He relaxed a bit. He was glad nothing was wrong but that still didn't explain why she was there.

"Good, but why are you here?" the wielder had to ask while one of his dark brows drifted up his forehead.

"Well…you see…that is kind of a strange story," Aqua began to ramble nervously.

The Keyblade Master began to curse herself for not thinking this through. For some reason, she hadn't actually expected to find him so she hadn't planned on how she would explain this unexpected news to him.

"Alright. Let's hear it," he responded apathetically.

Terra folded his arms over his chest and tried to brace himself for whatever it was she was about to say.

While he waited, his wielder instincts took over and he found himself scanning his opponent who happened to double as his old, dear friend. It finally started to sink in who was actually here, that_ she_ was actually here. It was Aqua in all her ethereal, graceful glory, but she looked tired,_ really_ tired.

Like him, she was in civilian clothing that suited her fully developed physique nicely. It had been a while since he had laid eyes on her and she_ definitely_ had more curves than he remembered her having.

The brunette shook his head when he noticed his mind was wandering around the gutter.

"We should probably talk about it somewhere…more private," Aqua suggested, her eyes wandering around the glowing Second District. She didn't see anyone suspicious, but that didn't mean they weren't there and that they weren't listening.

"Oh…right," Terra replied before motioning for Aqua to follow him.

Silently, they journeyed back into the hotel and entered the green room where Terra was staying.

Upon entering the room, Aqua noticed it was quaint and cozy, but a bit messy.

"Uh, sorry the room is kind of a mess. I, um, wasn't expecting company," the bronze warrior explained as he walked across his quarters to the bed.

Terra couldn't help but be reminded of all the times Aqua had busted into his room, complained about it being messy, then proceeded to help him clean it before the Master saw. Her room, of course, was always spotless…

"No, no, it's fine." She held her hands up and shook them defensively. "I wasn't expecting on _being _company until this morning."

Terra gallantly gestured for Aqua to take a seat at the nearby table and she humbly accepted.

The room grew unpleasantly quiet and the Keyblade wielder began scratching the back of his neck as he paced back and forth in the same spot by the bed until he almost worked grooves into the carpet with his feet.

"Are you hungry? Thirsty? Want some water?" Terra began rambling. This was kind of awkward although he was still pretty sure they probably knew each other better than anyone…

"S-sure?" Aqua responded in a hushed tone and shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

While Terra stomped to a small refrigerator in the corner of the hotel room, she noticed the empty bottles of empty Panaceas and Hi-Potions lying on the table she sat at and around his bed. The young woman instantly began to wonder what he did that required them to have so many in his room or what ailment plagued him outside the battlefield…

"Why do you have so many Panaceas?" the azure maiden couldn't keep herself from asking as Terra clinked bottles and items around in the tiny refrigerator in search of a bottle of water.

"I get really bad headaches. Panaceas and Hi-Potions are the only things that kind of help," he replied vacantly and curtly as he coarsely handed the bottle of water to her.

Saying he had headaches was an understatement. Saying that he had screaming neuralgic episodes would be a much more accurate depiction of his ailment. Terra would get headaches to the point of nausea and even vomiting on his really bad days. The headaches would blur his vision and sometimes he would even get blind spots. To make matters worse, he was sensitive to light and sound, and the physical activity and exertion that came with being a Keyblade wielder only made the insufferable pain worse.

Not only were they excruciating, they inhibited his daily activities. He was lucky if they only lasted for a few days…but he had experienced episodes that lasted for weeks.

However, Aqua was in luck, she chose to visit on a day that his brain wasn't violently imploding inside his skull every five seconds.

"Oh." She nodded and dropped the subject, trying not to be the protective, overbearing girl she used to be although she was worried.

To keep herself from saying too much or something she might regret, she opened the bottle and took a few sips.

"So." Terra smiled a bit. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Master Aqua?"

That title stung coming from his lips. She could almost hear the jealousy and resentment in it, and it hurt because she knew it was intended to be there. That was just how he saw her now. That was what time, the Mark of Mastery exam, and Xehanort had done to their friendship and their once healthy rivalry.

"Master Yen Sid and Master Eraqus sent me here to summon you back to the Land of Departure," Aqua explained and her tone was way more professional and flat than she intended it to be, but it was easier to make this professional. It wouldn't hurt as much if it was professional and maybe that air of professionalism would keep the tension, confrontation, and conflict away.

"Was that an order or a request?"

"Both?" She shrugged and played around with the top of the water bottle. "They were very vague."

"You mean they didn't tell you?" Terra looked surprised.

"No, they just told me that it was important news regarding us and that they wanted me to come get you so they could tell us together."

"Still following the Master's orders, I see." the warrior scoffed a bit before crossing his arms and leaning against the nearest wall.

"Well…yes," Aqua replied innocently although she knew very well what he was referring to. "But…it's not the kind of order that you are thinking it is… You don't _have_ to come back. The choice is yours. I wasn't ordered to bring you back with me."

"Were you ordered to the first time?"

"N-no." She laced her fingers in her lap and looked away. "He called it a _request_…"

"See my point?" Terra challenged.

"I do…but you don't understand. This isn't like last time and even then you misunderstood what we were trying to do."

"No. I understood. You didn't trust me. You didn't think I could handle the darkness in me…" He walked to his bed and clumsily collapsed onto its surface.

"No! That's not it!" Aqua dropped the water bottle and leapt from her chair before she knelt down in front of him. "I would never— I was only…"

Aqua had gone through this scenario at least a thousand times in her head. She couldn't count the number of times she had envisioned the moment where they were finally reunited and she finally had the chance to explain herself and apologize, but now that it was finally here, she was stumbling all over herself and she couldn't find the right words to save her life.

"No," he interrupted her but didn't look directly at her. "You were right to distrust me. You both were. I said I wouldn't fail again, but I did. My careless, naïve actions were leading us straight into oblivion."

"No…Terra…we pushed you to it…" Aqua held her head down. "We just… I just… I'm sorry…"

Bitter silence consumed the room. This wasn't how Aqua wanted things to go. She wasn't sure what she wanted but she didn't want this.

"When are they expecting you back?" Terra broke the silence first. It was just too much. They had probably confronted that issue a bit too quickly and now things were awkward. Not knowing what else to do, he changed the subject.

"They didn't say." Aqua got back to her feet and wandered around the room. "They just told me ask you to return with me."

Honestly, Terra didn't feel like he was ready to go back. He hadn't set foot on that sacred ground since his decent into darkness…after his countless failures, and he had made a vow to himself that he wouldn't return until he redeemed himself. He had to change the Master's mind. He had to do what he had set out to do years ago; stop the Unversed and find Master Xehanort, only then would he truly feel worthy of returning home and facing his Master…his home…his friends…his family.

However, this news had complicated things…running into her had complicated things. Avoiding coming home was one thing but denying a request from, not one Master, but two was another. Plus, they said it was important and Aqua had come all this way…

"Then...I guess we should get going."

Aqua froze and glanced over her shoulder at him. "You're actually coming?"

Terra shrugged. "I don't really have much of a choice. I still want to redeem myself and prove to Master Eraqus I am worthy of being a Keyblade Master and if I am going to do that, I probably need to be responsible and respond when summoned. I wouldn't be a very good Master if I didn't appear when summoned now would I?"

Aqua smiled, "Ven will be so happy. He has really missed you. We all have."

He had missed them too but he just couldn't go back. He had failed to many times. He had steeped his heart in darkness for too long. He needed to be alone. He needed to figure himself out, get himself together, get his darkness under control and he just didn't think he could do that there. There was too much light, too many confusing emotions, too much pressure…it would just make his darkness spread.

"I suppose I should head back and tell them that you are coming," the blue maiden announced softly and walked toward the door.

"Right." Terra gave a nod and stood to escort her out.

"Ven will have an aneurism if I take too long. He demanded that I hurry back." Aqua chuckled a bit.

"H-how is he?" the young man inquired lowly as he followed Aqua to the door.

Aqua's eyes fell to the floor. "He puts on a brave front. He is chipper and happy as always, but I think he is more troubled than he lets on."

Terra sighed and watched her silently. He had so much to say that he was actually at a loss for words.

"What me to escort you out of town?" he changed the subject instead. Again.

The female Keyblade Master desperately wanted to tell him 'yes', not because she needed him to, but because she just wanted to spend more time with him.

"No." She gave a small smile and shook her head. "I can go myself. Thank you though."

"No problem." he shrugged and almost smiled. Almost.

"So, I guess, I will see you back at the Land of Departure?" Aqua inquired as if she was still trying to make sure this was real and ensuring that he was in fact coming home.

"Yeah. I'll be right behind you."

Sure, this wasn't a permanent visit. It wasn't going to last long but at least it would last for a little while and that was better than nothing. Maybe it would be enough to sustain her for another three years…

* * *

Setting foot on the soil of the Land of Departure felt odd. It had been so long since he had been there. It felt like another lifetime ago, but this world had not aged a day. It looked just the way it did in his memories. Everything was just as he though it would be when he returned, but he was hoping to feel more at peace on the inside when he finally came back.

"Hey." Terra heard Aqua's voice break through his thoughts. "You okay?"

"Yeah…I'm just kind of…" he looked down at her as she stood close to his side. Her eyes swimming with concern as she peered up at him affectionately. It felt like she understood what he was feeling inside although he hadn't told her.

"You weren't ready," she finished for him.

"Honestly?" he kind of chuckled and shook his head. "No, I wasn't."

"We don't have to go in right now if you don't want to. You can take a minute to process everything and prepare if you need to," Aqua offered when she saw the uncertainty in his features and the tension in his body. "We could go up to the Summit."

"It's tempting but I think I've stalled enough. If I keep stalling I might not ever go in."

"We'll go together." Her hand touched his shoulder and he exhaled harshly, some of the tension leaving his body and some of his nerves uncoiling at her light touch.

The male Keyblade wielder took another deep breath and finally decided to move his stubborn feet in the direction of the castle.

"Terra!" an almost familiar voice cried and was followed by a string of pants and rapid footsteps.

"Ven?" Terra turned to face the voice and Aqua smiled.

A very excited, but winded Ventus sprinted down the Mountain Path and approached his friends.

"You're...home!" Ven exclaimed between breaths once he finally reached them.

"You're tall." Terra chuckled and placed a hand on Ven's head before shaking his spiky, blonde hair. He couldn't help but notice it didn't take his hand _nearly_ as long to reach the top of his head as it used to.

Ven laughed and tried to wiggle his head out from under Terra's large palm.

"Hey! It hasn't been_ that_ long since you've seen me."

"True, but for some reason I still expect you to be a short fifteen year old." The brunette grinned and folded his arms over his chest.

Aqua giggled into her hand and Ven noticed that her smile actually reached her eyes and her laugh wasn't forced. He could hardly remember the last time he saw her show signs of genuine happiness.

"Have you two already been to see the Masters?" the blonde boy asked excitedly.

"No, Ven, not yet," Aqua replied.

"Well, come on! You don't need to keep them waiting!" Ventus cried and Terra instantly noticed the contrast between his two best friends. Ven, while well-intentioned, didn't notice his apprehension as Aqua did.

Terra's brow furrowed with confusion as Ven's words sank in and he cast his gaze back to Aqua. "Does he know what this is about?"

"I'm not sure but I think so," she whispered after she gave a shrug.

"Come on, you slowpokes!" Ven teased as he left his older companions behind and bolted toward the large fortress. "I know you two are old but I didn't think you were out of shape!"

Normally, this would be the part where Terra said something snarky in return, chased after Ventus, put him in his place, and earned bragging rights for a week, but his nerves and apprehension held him back. He just couldn't jump right back into this. He needed to adjust and he couldn't do that by chasing Ventus around the castle like a child…like he used to. Terra wanted things to magically shift back to the way they once were too, but he had to be realistic. Too much had happened and it just wasn't possible…not yet anyway. He had to be mature, he had to show the Master that he had changed, he had to change the Master's mind about him and he couldn't do that by succumbing to old habits the instant he returned. It would do nothing of the Master's image of him.

Coming back to reality, Terra realized Aqua was still at his side. She had waited on him. Why she did, he wasn't sure. He hadn't been that nice to her since their reunion so why was she being so considerate and showing him so much compassion? He didn't deserve it.

"Ready?" she asked with a sweet smile on her face.

She was the first to take a few steps forward. She thought that maybe doing so would encourage him to do so as well.

Taking in yet another a deep breath, Terra followed her lead and wretched his feet from the earth beneath his reluctant feet. Ventus was already inside the castle but Aqua was only a few steps ahead of him as he ascended the stairs that led to the fortress that he had once called home.

Aqua could sense his unease as she walked with him. Terra was quiet and a bit withdrawn, which was very unlike him…well, the old him, the man she knew three years ago. Perhaps this Terra was different.

Three years ago, the young woman would have placed a hand on his arm and helped him up the stairwell but now she wasn't sure if such affection was welcome.

Since she decided touching him was too perilous, she merely walked with him instead. She wanted to let him know that she was there for him no matter what, she always had been and she always would be.

Terra's breathing hitched when Aqua opened the massive doors that led to the castle's entryway and ultimately the throne room. He knew who was inside waiting for him and he wasn't sure what all of this was about and that made him nervous. Terra wasn't crazy about the unknown and he didn't really care for surprises.

Although he was nervous, very uncertain, and downright opposed to this, Terra walked stoically and calmly through the foyer of gold, ivory, and radiant, multicolored stain glass.

The walk to the thrones and to Master Eraqus seemed to take years. Aqua quietly walked next to him, which managed to take the edge off somehow.

The closer Terra got, the more he realized how Master Eraqus had aged. His black hair was grayer and his thin beard appeared to be dusted with salt. The Master's eyes were worn, outlined by a few more wrinkles, and tired but they still had their kind, gentle glow.

"Hello, Terra," Master Eraqus greeted and eagerly descended the steps to meet the boy he raised and regarded as a son.

Terra swallowed hard and stood erect at the foot of the daïs with emotionless features.

"It is so good to see you after all this time," the Master said proudly and professionally before placing a gentle hand on Terra's shoulder.

The guilt that coiled in Terra's insides at that moment was almost unbearable. This man was practically his father but he had come so close to betraying him and turning on him because of hurt feelings and naïvety. He was ready to take Xehanort as a Master instead because that man had convinced him that he was the only person that could ever understand him, the only person that he could count on, and that he would never be a Master in Eraqus's eyes…

"It is good to see you too, Master," Terra managed to say without having his voice betray him and reveal how bad he truly felt.

Eraqus beamed with pride at the sight of all three of his students standing before him again. It had been so long since he had seen them like this, but the pupils before him now were not the children that stood before him three years ago. These children were older and not really children at all anymore.

While Ventus was the most changed, that didn't mean Aqua and Terra was without change either.

Terra had grown a bit in stature but Aqua had been left behind in height. Both Ventus and Terra were taller than she was now. Their faces and eyes were all aged and no longer held as much child like quality as they once did.

Aqua was clearly a young woman now and Terra certainly was a man. The differences were subtle but Eraqus could see them plainly.

"It is good to see you as well, Master Yen Sid," Terra called to the second Master present who stood in front of one of the three thrones at the back of the daïs.

"Terra," Yen Sid replied and bobbed his head in acknowledgement.

"Aqua, Ventus, thank you for joining us as well." Master Eraqus smiled at his other pupils.

"Yes, Master," replied Aqua and Ventus in unison as they stood at attention before him.

Master Eraqus nodded and returned to the center throne where he took a seat next to Yen Sid, preparing to get comfortable and speak with his students.

"So, I am sure you want to know why we have summoned you all here today," Eraqus began honorably.

Aqua and Terra nodded while Ventus grinned.

"Aqua. Terra." Master Eraqus's eyes darted between his eldest pupils. "Do you know anything about Keychains?"

The blue-haired girl's brow furrowed and her eyes fell to the floor as she tried to remember the details of the lesson they received about Keychains years ago. It had been so long ago that she couldn't recall much and she could tell by the look on Terra's face that he didn't remember much more than she did.

"It's…" Aqua began, her eyes rising to meet Eraqus's, "It's a special bond between Keyblade wielders or Masters…correct?"

"I thought it was something between lovers…" Terra was far from confident in his answer.

"Both of you are essentially correct," their Master replied. "A Keychain can be either of those things. Each Keychain is different and it varies depending on those who are bound by it."

"Destiny's way of holding keys together," Aqua rummaged through her memories aloud.

"That's right and they exist or come into being for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they hold keys together for the purpose of brining an end to conflict. Sometimes it is to bring each other peace of mind, to protect each other's hearts and spirits. Sometimes it is to protect each other from themselves, from their own powers, from the malevolent powers of others, or from external forces," Master Eraqus explained further.

As the Master spoke, the more Terra began to remember this lesson from years ago. It seemed so insignificant at the time and trivial in the long run. These things were so rare and trite he hardly saw how it mattered or would matter. It seemed more like something fake or something out of a bogus fairy tale than something that would matter to Keyblade Masters. He thought that the first time he was informed of this rubbish and he thought it now. Especially since this was customarily a romantic concept, something that usually happened between individuals that were romantically involved with one another. In a way, a Keychain was another word for marriage between Keyblade bearers because, normally, wielders and Masters didn't get romantically involved with one another unless a Keychain existed between them.

"Not that this isn't interesting but what does this have to do with anything?" Terra asked and he couldn't help but feel that he had asked this before. He probably had.

"It has to do with you and Aqua, Terra," Master Eraqus responded softly and gently. He knew he would have to be blunt with Terra; it was and had always been the best way to get through to him.

Terra and Aqua's eyes dilated. Terra reeled and Aqua blanched and Ventus smiled.

"What are you saying?" the eldest managed to rasp.

"Terra, you and Aqua are linked by a Keychain," answered Eraqus confidently.

"Just us? What about Ven?" Aqua questioned respectfully.

"I have no doubt that you three are bound by some form of Keychain as well because of your powerful friendship, but the one we are referring to currently, is the one between just you and Terra," Master Eraqus explained.

"What is the difference?" Terra challenged. "What makes you think there is more than one? Couldn't you be sensing something between_ all_ three of us?"

"At the moment, what is between the three of you is not as insistent or as demanding as what is between the two of you," Yen Sid called assertively from the thrones.

"How can you know that?" the brown-haired wielder tried not to scoff or be rude as Aqua closed her eyes and held her head down.

"You mean you do not feel the affinity you have for her?" the sorcerer questioned sincerely and placed his hands in his lap as he casually implied that _everyone_ could feel the invisible bond between them.

Terra's eyes widened before they wandered to the silent girl beside him. "Well… Of course… Of course, I do but that doesn't mean anything."

Terra blushed a bit.

"Are you asking for proof?" Yen Sid challenged.

"I don't know…maybe," the eldest pupil ran a hand down his flushed face. He was completely exasperated and overstimulated. This was all too much and it was all happening so fast. He was on information overload and it was making him act irrationally.

"Aqua," Yen Sid addressed the blue maiden at Terra's left. "Touch one of Terra's scars."

"Excuse me?" she squeaked and placed a hand over her heart.

"Find a scar on Terra's body. Any will do, and tell me how he got it."

"That won't prove anything… I could have been with him when he got them and I have probably caused over half of them myself… I could just guess." She chuckled meekly and shook her head. Aqua doubted it would convince Terra anyway. He was shutting down.

"Terra, show Aqua a scar or injury that you obtained recently," Master Yen Sid instructed with a bob of his gray head.

The brown-haired wielder sighed and shook his head but relented. He pointed to a pink scrape on the palm of his hand.

The wound looked fresh and Aqua didn't recall giving it to him and Terra knew he obtained it during their separation. It was perfect for this little _'test.'_

Reluctantly, Aqua reached out to touch the faded lesion with her middle and index fingers. She closed her eyes and instantly saw an image of Terra cutting his palm with the broken glass of a Panacea bottle.

"He cut himself on a broken Panacea bottle while cleaning his hotel room," Aqua stated matter of factly and pulled her fingers away from his palm.

"Terra," Master Yen Sid cast his cold gaze back to the brunette, "Is she correct?"

"Yes, but how does that prove anything? She is not only a Keyblade Master but she is a Mage. She could probably do that with anyone," Terra argued and folded his arms.

Master Eraqus closed his eyes and shook his head. He knew Terra would struggle to accept this. The young man always found conflict with things he couldn't see or understand. Believing wasn't always enough for him. Terra liked things solid and concrete, like earth. He always struggled with the metaphysical. He was the total opposite of his counterpart, Aqua.

The black-haired Master opened his eyes to regard his mystical student. Aqua didn't look surprised or too concerned. She looked elegant and composed as always but he could tell that beneath that tranquil mask, she was probably a bit hurt by Terra's reaction to this. It was very possible that Aqua was feeling this as a form of rejection.

A Keychain, while not always romantic, was _always _an intimate bond on some level, especially between those that knew and cared for one another. If Aqua could feel the Keychain and its pull, then having her counterpart resist it would feel like him resisting her as well. Not to mention, that because Aqua and Terra were friends, she felt this on a personal level. Terra couldn't see what he was doing to her and ultimately himself by resisting this.

"Aqua," her Master called and she jumped. The maiden was clearly lost in thought.

"What do you think? Do you think you were able to see the wound's origin through your own powers? Or the powers of the Keychain?" he continued.

"I, um…well," Aqua's blue stare fell to the floor again.

Honestly, Aqua wasn't sure how to respond. She didn't think she was able to do _anything_ like this before, but she was afraid that her attachment to Terra was clouding her judgment. Maybe a part of her just wanted to believe that this Keychain existed and that was making her jump to conclusions.

"Maybe I should try it on someone else?" she inquired and the Masters nodded.

"Ven?" she glanced to her right to Ventus. "May I?"

"Of course." The blonde grinned and pointed to a scab on his neck underneath his jaw.

"Gross, Ventus…" Aqua chastised under her breath, causing both of them to giggle.

"Sorry," he chuckled a bit more and the young woman couldn't keep herself from tittering again.

"S-stop!" she laughed and tried to get both of them to still so she could touch him and focus. "Be still."

Once she managed to compose herself and_ almost_ compose Ven before they succumbed to a giggle fit in front of the Masters during an important briefing, she placed her index and middle fingers on his injury just as she had Terra's.

Aqua closed her baby blue eyes but she saw nothing. She couldn't see the wounds origin and she couldn't inform anyone of how he got it. The connection wasn't the same. There was a connection but not like the one she felt when she touched Terra. Aqua knew for a fact that she loved Ven every bit as much as she loved Terra, but the link just wasn't the same. She loved them equally but in different ways…and apparently, this Keychain knew that.

After, casting a quick Cure on the nick on Ven's neck, she took a deep breath and removed her fingers from his neck. She looked at the Masters and shook her head.

Terra watched Aqua intently before shaking his head himself.

"I don't understand. A Keychain between just the two of us means… It suggests we are lovers! And we aren't! Our relationship was never like that…I have never looked at her like that," the rogue student argued again.

Everyone except for Terra saw the hurt that flashed across Aqua's face at his harsh, blunt words.

"Keychains can be platonic," Master Yen Sid clarified. "While there are romantic Keychains, ones that either lead to a romantic relationship or thrive off one that already exists, there are also obligational Keychains."

"Obligational?" Terra queried and his brow furrowed.

"Mm," Master Yen Sid nodded, "It is the type of Keychain Master Eraqus and I believe you and Aqua share. It is one born out of necessity, likely born because of the unresolved conflict involving Master Xehanort._ If_ it is obligational, the Keychain will break once the conflict that spurred its creation is resolved."

"So instead of being like a full-blown arranged marriage, it is just a temporary one?" Terra asked and Aqua and Ventus could hear the bitterness building in his tone. He was taking all of this the wrong way and pushing them away. Again.

"That is one way to look at it, I suppose," Yen Sid stroked his beard. "But it binds you together for a reason. All Keychains exist for a reason. Some have romantic origins or purposes while others do not. Like Eraqus stated previously, each one varies depending on those that are bound by the Keychain. You and Aqua's friendship will likely affect the type of Keychain you have, but I must not make assumptions. I cannot confirm what type you two have. I'm sorry."

"What if I don't think Keychains are real?" Terra stated flatly. "What if I choose not to believe it?"

Ventus cringed and Aqua winced at Terra's statement.

"Then you will suffer in ways you cannot imagine or you will reap the consequences if you ignore it and the task it wants you to confront together. The Keychain is now a part of you and thus you and Aqua are a part of each other. She is your counterpart. You are coupled whether you want to be or not," the sorcerer countered calmly.

"It is kind of…convenient, isn't it? That it is Aqua? The same person who was sent to spy on me three years ago, to bring me back if I succumbed to the darkness, and keep me from being led astray? I guess she has been promoted from spy to full-blown babysitter now? Spying wasn't enough…now she has to be with me at all times to keep me out of trouble, is that it?" Terra replied solemnly as his eyes rose to meet Eraqus's.

Terra felt ganged up on. It wasn't just Aqua and Master Eraqus who didn't trust him and his judgment, but Master Yen Sid and Ven as well. After all this time, they still didn't trust him or think he was capable of keeping the darkness in him in check. They still looked at him like he was a loose cannon, a liability and that was why they were throwing this Keychain on him.

"No, Terra. This is not a repeat of the past. This is something completely different. Despite what you may think, fate has decided this union, not us," Eraqus defended and tried to reassure him.

"But I _do _see why it exists," he continued when Terra's stony resolve refused to crumble. "Keychains are a form of dual guardianship. You are partners and equals. That is how Keychains work. One is not greater than the other. Both keys are used to reach the same goal, a goal, a responsibility, or a mission that cannot be reached with just one key. It requires you both. Individuals linked by Keychains share the same complimentary, compatible goals and sometimes even life goals. Their natures are in sync. Sometimes it is even safe for them to confront each other's demons, their darkness. They can go into these dark corners that would normally be to perilous for them to confront alone and address it safely and light can spread through them both."

Aqua knew the Master was trying to help but she knew that last statement would push Terra over the edge. It was a poor choice of words on her Master's part and she couldn't fight the grimace that smothered her face.

"I get it," Terra held his head down and turned on his heel to leave.

He had heard enough. He understood what was going on here. Even if this was destiny or fate or whatever, he didn't like how even_ it_ seemed to deem him unworthy of doing anything on his own, even it thought Aqua needed to babysit him.

"Terra," Aqua whispered and placed a hand on his shoulder as he turned. He froze when he felt her hand upon him. He was tempted to pull away but for some reason he just couldn't. It was too comforting…maybe…maybe the Masters were right…maybe they were bound together by a Keychain…or maybe he was just responding to the comfort that only one of his dearest friends could provide.

"Terra, I know this was probably the last thing you wanted or wanted to hear but I avoided informing you two of this as long as I could. I couldn't ignore the signs anymore and as a Master…as _your_ Master I had to do what destiny demanded I do," Master Eraqus almost pleaded and rose from his throne.

"I understand…but I don't want it. I don't want this. I don't need nor do I want a Keychain," Terra said softly, his voice barely over a whisper as Aqua's eyes darted back and forth between him and a very perturbed Eraqus. Aqua could tell that he knew they were losing him again. He knew just like she and Ventus knew...

"Unfortunately, Terra, it doesn't matter what you want. It is in destiny's hands," Master Yen Sid declared ambiguously.

Terra slid Aqua's hand off his shoulder and exited the throne room, and as much as it hurt her to do so, Aqua let him go.

"Terra!" Ven called as he too exited the sanctuary.

"Ven…" Aqua breathed and took a step towards him but she couldn't bring herself to run after him.

"You have been awfully quiet through all this, Aqua," the wise sorcerer's voice broke through Aqua's spiraling thoughts.

"Mm," she bobbed her head and turned to face the Masters again.

"Do_ you_ have any questions?" he continued kindly.

"Just…what are we supposed to do now? What am I supposed to do with this information…?"

"I'm sorry, Aqua, but we do not know the answer to that either. Keychains are very rare and we don't know much about them ourselves," Master Eraqus descended the steps to address his downcast pupil directly. "But I can tell you that it exists for a reason, but only you and Terra can discover what that reason or purpose is. Make no mistake that this link is destiny's way of telling you and Terra that you should either be together or be working together. Do you believe that? Terra has stated how he feels about all this but you have not stated how you feel."

"I believe you, Master. I am not numb to its strain nor am I deaf to its calls. I feel it…but I don't understand it…it is just an urge or need to be with him…I can't explain it." Aqua's brow furrowed as she placed a hand over her heart.

"There is no shame in not understanding it." Eraqus smiled. "Perhaps acknowledging it will be enough and maybe understanding will come afterwards."

"Terra will come around, Aqua. He feels this as well whether he wishes to acknowledge that or not. If you two are linked as we think you are, he will return. If for whatever reason you are meant to be together, you will be together. Fate will see to it." Yen Sid smiled warmly at her.

Aqua nodded. "I mean no disrespect, but I would like to be alone now… May I please be excused?"

"Of course." Master Eraqus bowed his head. "You are excused."

* * *

After the meeting, Aqua fled to the Summit to think. She sat on the lush grass that grew by the tiny pond that ran through the Summit's expanse. Being by water always seemed to calm her down.

Baby blue eyes blankly stared at the still lily pads while the shimmering water beneath them slowly flowed down stream.

The sun was setting, giving the whole world a warm, orange glow that reflected on the water's surging surface.

Aqua didn't know where Terra and Ventus were. She thought she might find them there but she was relieved to find they had gone somewhere else. She just wasn't ready to talk about what had just happened yet. Honestly, she wasn't ready to talk much at all. She just wanted to be quiet and wrestle with her thoughts a bit.

A Keychain. It had been so long since she had even thought about them. The Master had only given them one lesson on them and she was sure she would never hear about them again. Aqua remembered finding them sweet and charming the first time she heard about them. A bond or union _specifically_ between two wielders or Masters, something so strong that it was predestined and couldn't be avoided or denied, fates way of protecting them by giving them sanctuary through one another.

Years ago, Aqua would have been ecstatic about receiving a Keychain. It would have meant that she was important enough to receive one, strong enough to receive one, lucky enough… Fate deemed her worthy of receiving a Keychain. They were taught that it was something special and important, a great gift whether it be a romantic pairing or not…but why did it feel like a burden?

"Well that didn't go like I thought it would," Ventus's disgruntled voice shook Aqua out of her musings.

The Keyblade Master smiled over her shoulder at the boy who was crossing the bridge and making his way toward her.

"What did you think was going to happen?" she inquired.

"I thought you two would be happy." Ven shrugged before collapsing onto the ground beside her. "I thought it would bring you two back together and I thought that it would bring us all together again…"

Hearing that broke Aqua's heart. Ventus wanted them to be a family again…more than anything but apparently, not even a Keychain could give him that.

"So that was why you have been so excited," Aqua mused aloud and looked back at her blonde friend.

"Mm hmm." Ven nodded and began using Aero to whirl the lily pads around on the water's surface. "The Masters told me about it the other day. I was hoping that things could go back to how they used to be and maybe the Keychain was what would finally bring Terra back to us. That it would make him stay…you know to be with you…"

Aqua solemnly watched Ven's spell make the lily pads dance along the water like water nymphs as his words crept into her ear canal.

"Isn't that what Keychains do? Don't they hold people together? You two are supposed to work together now? Right?"

"Normally, yes, but I think Terra and I are an exception," said Aqua, her eyes not leaving the tranquility of the water or the dancing Aero spells.

"Because he said he didn't want it?"

Aqua shrugged.

"What happens when one of the people linked to the Keychain deny it?"

Aqua gave a second shrug. "Master Yen Sid said they would suffer or reap the consequences."

"Do you deny it, Aqua?"

"It doesn't matter if I do or not. I am only one key along the chain. The Keychain won't work if he isn't on the chain with me. A Keychain isn't a Keychain unless there is more than one key attached to it," Aqua tried to explain something she hardly understood herself and she felt like she was failing miserably.

The cerulean maiden expected another series of questions but Ventus was suddenly mute. Just as she was about to ask him what was wrong, she realized they were no longer alone.

"Can you give us a minute, Ven?" Terra's deep voice sounded behind her and she winced. "I-I think Aqua and I need to be alone for a second…"

Aqua could see Ven's expression change from one of pessimism to one of hope. She could tell he was thinking that maybe Terra had changed his mind and that he wanted to work with her or be with her…or whatever they were supposed to do, but Aqua knew Terra and she could tell by his tone that he was coming to sever what was left of this brittle filament called a Keychain.

"Yeah. Of course!" the blonde wielder chirped and jumped to his feet. "I'll wait for you two back at the castle."

"We will catch up with you in a minute," Terra concurred and forged a smile which fell the instant Ven turned his back on them.

Once Ven's footsteps faded into silence, the brown-haired male plopped onto the ground beside Aqua and caused ripples to form along the water's glossy surface.

They didn't speak. Aqua could feel him staring at her as she denied him eye contact.

The silence lingered for a short eternity until she couldn't stand it anymore.

"I'm sorry it's me," she sighed and turned her head further away from him.

"What?" Terra reeled and blinked rapidly.

"I'm sorry you are linked to me. I'm sorry it's me and not someone else," she elaborated a bit since her first statement went over his head.

Aqua knew he didn't want it to be her. He probably wanted a Keychain, all wielders and Masters do, but he probably wanted it to be with someone he loved. That was ideal. The dream. Who wouldn't want an intimate, predestined bond with a fellow wielder or Master? With their significant other? That was her instant thought when she was taught about Keychains, that they were between lovers or a husband and wife…_not_ between strained friends.

The azure woman would be lying if she said she hadn't hoped for a Keychain between them at some point when they were teenagers…before Ven came and it was just them. Aqua's demented girly teenage mind went to that dangerous place and secretly hoped one day they would fall in love and it would turn out that, that love was so powerful that it was born from a Keychain or would maybe forge one... Like they were always meant to be together…like it was written in the stars before they ever laid eyes on each other…

"I know I am probably the last person you wanted this with." Aqua sighed and almost looked back at him.

"Why would you think that?" Terra whispered.

"Because it's true," she tried not to snap. She saw how he reacted in there and she knew _he_ hadn't forgotten. Why _wouldn't_ she think that after the way he acted in front of the Masters?

"It's not that…I just—"

"You don't have to explain yourself, Terra," Aqua shook her head dejectedly.

Half of him was relieved that she said that because it meant they didn't have to talk about his confusing feelings anymore but the other half of him felt bad and felt that he needed to explain himself to her.

She deserved an explanation, right? She deserved to know that she wasn't the last person he wanted this with, right? Then why couldn't he find the nerve to tell her that?

Instead of giving her peace of mind, he just sat there twiddling his fingers like a jerk, a big dumb jerk.

Terra couldn't find the words he wanted to say to her. He felt like they needed to talk about this, what it meant and what they were supposed to do now but…

"You just wouldn't understand…" he mumbled and he wasn't sure if he was mumbling to himself or to her.

"Wouldn't understand? Terra, what wouldn't I understand?" her tone was angry but her voice was beseeching as she sternly glanced over her shoulder at him.

His friend's sudden outburst took him off guard and he recoiled a bit. He had a feeling they weren't just talking about Keychains anymore.

"That this is about my darkness, my failures, and my dishonor. This isn't about us or destiny or Keychains. It is about keeping me in line and my darkness in check. That's what you wouldn't understand…you wouldn't even be able to comprehend it…"

"Who would understand?_ Xehanort_?" Aqua spat_ his_ name like bile.

"Maybe…"

"Why do you always assume we won't understand you? Terra, we knew you for years! Understood you for years, but the instant the Master confronted you about your darkness and the instant that _monster_ started putting these absurd notions in your head, suddenly, we don't understand you anymore?"

"I didn't say you don't understand _me._ You know me better than anyone but you don't know darkness, my darkness. None of you know darkness…but he did."

"I would have tried if you would have just given me the chance. You just assumed I wouldn't. Your demons are my demons, Terra. We were a team. What affects one of us, affects all of us… Your darkness may not have been in _my_ heart but-"

"I just needed someone to tell me that I was fine the way I was!" he bellowed before he could stop it. "I didn't want to be condemned or spied on or lectured because I wasn't as radiant as you or Ventus. Master Xehanort was the only person that didn't do that. He didn't make me feel like a failure…"

"Are you forgetting who that man was? Didn't you read those reports?!"

"I did. You know I did and I know he was a monster. I know he was planning on doing and did do horrible things but honestly he was the only person that I thought would understand that part of me, the only person that could help me understand that part of myself when it was still so foreign to me. The only one I could still count on… The Master wouldn't_ help_ me with darkness, he would only tell me to dispose of it but it runs to deep in me for it to ever be disposed of…it was too late for that…it_ is_ too late for that."

"Terra…I wanted to understand that part of you…I did, I _do_…I wanted to help then and I still do but…I can't help feeling like you wouldn't take my help. I think you would misunderstand it for condemnation or criticism… And who knows…maybe it would be. Maybe you are right. Maybe I don't know how to properly confront that part of you."

Aqua knew his darkness would always form a barrier between them and that maybe Xehanort could understand him in a way that they never could. There was some truth to what Terra said and that hurt.

Yes, Xehanort was using Terra and manipulating him but he was able to do so because he _understood_ that dark, vulnerable part of him. The part of himself that he was so ashamed of that he hid it from them the instant it manifested during the Mark of Mastery exam. The dark part of his heart she could never reach because she was too bright to venture into it. She supposed in a way, she was jealous of Xehanort and his ability to cajole Terra's darkness.

"I want you to know that…I'm sorry for not trusting you and for doubting you when you needed me on your side. And I'm sorry that I don't know how to help you control your darkness. I guess…I'm just sorry that none of us can be everything that you need and that our harsh _methods _just made the shadows in your heart larger… I didn't understand what I was doing to you then but I do now and I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I forgive you." Terra smirked. "But you don't really have anything to apologize for. You were just doing what the Master always taught us to do… He never taught us how to contain or master darkness…it just…it just wasn't supposed to exist and if it did, we were supposed to reprimand it and extinguish it."

"If I could have helped you through that…if I had known how to do so properly…you know that I would have… You know that right?"

"Yeah. I know."

It grew quiet again, painfully so. Aqua didn't know what else to say. She had never felt so detached from him, so far away from him and she just knew that wherever Xehanort was, he was reveling in it.

Their conversation had reminded her of how blind she had been to his needs, to his distant, subconscious, subtle cries for help. And how even if she had heard them, she would have had no way to help him. She would only make it worse. She had proven that multiple times. She couldn't give him the advice or knowledge he needed to save him from himself. There would always be that disconnect between them but light and darkness were connected, right? They coexisted, one couldn't exist without the other but that didn't mean that they could fully understand each other….

"You know," whispered Aqua.

She decided to shift back to the matter at hand. She didn't really want to dwell on the past anymore even though it did still seem like a major part of her present.

"You don't have to stay just because of what they said. You aren't_ required_ to be with me."

Again, Terra found himself at a loss for words. He knew what she said was true but he couldn't stop himself from feeling like he _needed _to be with her, that it was what he was supposed to do. Wasn't that what the Masters were driving at? Wasn't that what Keychains demanded?

"Are…are you sure?" he asked with vast amounts of uncertainty.

"I'm sure. Why should you stay for something you don't believe in?" she asked with a weak smile.

Her smile made him sad because they weren't the vibrant heart warming smiles he knew her to exude, but he grinned in return anyway.

Terra nodded then the Summit was filled with more of that unbearable silence that seemed to be following them everywhere.

Before he knew what he was doing, he offered her his hand.

For the first time since he sat down next to her, Aqua completely turned her head to fully regard him and the strange offering.

His palm was face up while the back of his hand rested on his knee in silent invitation.

Not knowing what else to do, Aqua placed her hand in his. His fingers instantly curled up and secured her hand within his. He was warm, but he felt good. It made the dull stinging in her chest more bearable.

Her slender fingers wrapped around his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

Was he apologizing? If he was, what was he apologizing for? Was he apologizing for the things he had done in the past? For leaving her? For denying this part of their lives? For refusing her and their Keychain? But he didn't want it nor did he believe in it, so why would he apologize for anything? It was just a myth or a legend to him; nothing but a bunch of hocus pocus…like her…

"You should talk to Ven before you go. He had his heart set on this working out. He wanted this to bring the three of us back together, for good. He was hoping this would make you stay with us," Aqua said emotionlessly as she continued to hold onto the tanned hand within hers.

"Oh, right." Terra snapped out of the trance their contact had put him in. "I'll be sure to explain it to him."

In reality, Terra had no idea how he would even begin to explain something he hardly understood himself to his younger friend, but he supposed he would cross that bridge when he got to it.

"I will talk to the Masters for you. All I ask of you is that you talk to Ventus," Aqua requested passively as she looked up into his dark eyes.

She was grateful they were still midnight blue and not that foreboding hue of gold from her nightmares.

Terra's heart faltered and his breathing hitched when their eyes mated. How she already knew he didn't want to confront the Masters again would forever be beyond him. How she always managed to know what he wanted before he did was a mystery.

"Okay, thanks," he replied and ripped his eyes away from hers.

The earthen male rose to his feet and let go of Aqua's hand. Slowly, their hands slipped apart and Aqua's fingertips trickled down his fingers. She wanted to remember how his skin felt. She wanted to engrave it into her memory so she wouldn't forget how he felt or how it felt to touch him. She wanted to count every wrinkle on his hands, every scar, every single crease before he abandoned her again.

"I guess I better go. My business is done here. I will come back if I hear anything from Master Xehanort or if I get any clues," Terra declared and brushed the grass off his jeans. "You or Ven may want to check the Keyblade Graveyard every now and then. Master Xehanort frequented that location and I never like to go too long without revisiting it."

Aqua nodded and Terra knelt down to rest a hand on her shoulder. His arm draped over her and he rubbed her shoulder to offer her some form of solace or comfort. He rested his cheek on her blue head and felt her soft hair tickling his cheek and teasing his lips.

The Keyblade Master closed her eyes tightly as if it would keep the tears from falling down her cheeks. She didn't feel like she had to cry but she just knew her eyes would betray her and display to the world how this was killing her inside.

She could feel him resting his head against hers, his hand roughly rubbing her shoulder, but she didn't move, she _couldn't_ move. If she did, she would cling to him to keep him from leaving them again, but she couldn't be selfish. If you love someone, you let them go and Aqua loved Terra.

"Goodbye, Terra," she whispered and if she didn't know any better she would have sworn she felt him press his lips against her hair. However, she did know better and she knew that she was just imaging it.

Time marched in place as Terra tried to work up the nerve to detach himself from her. It had never been this hard for him to let go of anyone before. He needed to leave. He knew that. He didn't belong here anymore but he couldn't keep himself from feeling like he wasn't ready to leave yet or maybe he just wasn't ready to leave_ her_ yet. Maybe...maybe there was something to this Keychain bologna after all?

No. No, there couldn't be.

"Goodbye, Aqua." Terra breathed into her hair before he let go of her, straightened his posture, and left the Summit.

* * *

_**A/N: Thanks so much for reading! And thanks to all of you that reviewed/favorited/followed this story and motivated me to write this chapter and continue this story! This chapter was for you, and what a doozy it was! It feels like I've been writing this thing for a year... Geez I'm glad I managed to finish it! Anyway! Hopefully a few things were cleared up in this chapter but not all of them are supposed to be just yet. If you are familiar with my other stories you probably know I like to keep an air of mystery and ambitiousness hanging around but things will gradually start to make more sense! I promise! Just trust me! **_

_**Thanks again for reading and feel free to ask questions! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! **_


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any part of Kingdom Hearts in any way, shape, or form.

* * *

**_Chapter 3_**

* * *

On his way down to the castle, Terra had decided he was one of the worst human beings alive. Not only was he leaving the girl who was supposedly attached to the same Keychain as he was, he was leaving the boy, well young man now, that wanted nothing more than to have his friends back. Not to mention he was abandoning whatever responsibility and obligation he had to this alleged 'Keychain' and his Masters.

But he couldn't stay. They just didn't understand…

As Ven's form slowly came into view, Terra could already see the disappointment in his posture as he sat upon the castle steps. He probably already knew what he was about to tell him.

"How did it go with Aqua?" Ventus asked with a small smile before he rose to his feet and approached him.

Terra shrugged. "It went."

Vague and indifferent. Terra was sure that was the strategy and art he would master _way_ before he mastered the Keyblade.

"Is she upset?" the younger boy inquired again and Terra could tell they had grown more attached to each other in his absence and that hurt. It hurt. A lot.

"I-I'm not sure…" the brunette replied truthfully.

_I tried not to notice… _he added privately.

"Oh." Ven held his head down and looked away. "So, you are going away again?"

"Yeah. I have to. I can't stay here."

"Why not?" the younger wielder couldn't keep himself from asking.

And there was the question Terra was trying to avoid like plague.

He cursed under his breath.

Terra almost wanted to use the old excuse of 'you are too young to understand' but Terra was pretty sure he couldn't use that excuse on an eighteen year old as easily as he had a fifteen year old.

The bronze warrior relented a sigh. "I just don't belong here anymore and I have to leave now or I won't be able to leave at all. It's not that I _want_ to leave…it's more like I have to."

"Because of Xehanort?"

"Well, partly. I just…I still have a lot that I have to deal with and I can't do that here," Terra tried his best to explain.

"You can't do it here or you_ won't_ do it here?" Ven chuckled a bit.

Terra smirked. "Honestly? A bit of both."

"Want me to come with you? You probably get tired of being alone," Ventus offered although he knew Terra would refuse the instant that question left his lips.

"I really appreciate the offer, Ven, but I don't think the Master and Aqua would be too happy if you ran off with me."

Ven nodded and folded his arms, chewing on the inside of his cheek as he listened to Terra's vindication.

"And honestly, I would feel better knowing you are here with them. It is best that you stay here with them. They need you," Terra added and placed a sturdy hand on his comrade's shoulder.

"They need you too. You know that, right?" Ven argued politely but more feverishly than he would have three years ago. Terra's best friend wasn't fifteen anymore.

"No one needs me," Terra grumbled under his breath.

The blonde Keyblade bearer started to argue that, that wasn't true, but he knew Terra wouldn't believe him even if he did. Terra was convinced that he wasn't anything good or helpful anymore and it didn't matter what he said to him. Terra's resolve was made of steel.

"Okay. You win. I disagree, but you win… What about the Keychain?" Ventus also wanted to ask him what about Aqua but he figured at this point they were one in the same.

"What about it?" the older wielder scoffed.

"I don't know." Ven scratched the back of his neck. "Aren't you two…I don't know, supposed to be together now or something?"

"If this thing exists, and I'm not convinced it does, it has existed for a while. We have been apart for three years and nothing has changed and nothing has happened. We aren't required to be together. Aqua said so herself," Terra argued sternly and Ven wasn't sure who he was trying to convince, him or himself.

"But…what if something _does_ happen. Just because something hasn't happened_ yet_ doesn't mean that it won't. The Masters said that it existed for a reason which means that—"

"Aqua is starting to rub off on you. You are worrying too much," Terra grumbled and sticking to old habits; roughly rustled Ventus's flaxen hair.

Ven grimaced and fought off the playful assault, causing both of them to laugh and break into a brief wrestling match that resulted in Ventus being locked into a chokehold.

'_When I really need you Ven, I know you'll be there,' _Terra had said to him another lifetime ago and Ven wouldn't let him down. When Terra really needed him, he _would_ be there.

"Stay here and hold down the fort," Terra commanded with a chuckle as he released his blonde friend, putting an end to their roughhousing.

"Of course!" Ven straightened his posture and stood arrogantly before his fellow wielder.

"And…" Terra's tone turned serious and his features hardened. "Take care of her…"

Ventus's eyes widened. He was a bit taken back by his sudden change in demeanor but he nodded nonetheless.

Ven had a bad, gnawing feeling about this. The last time they stood in front of the castle steps together was right before Terra left the first time, before Xehanort went missing, before all hell broke loose. He hoped things would be different this time…

* * *

After Terra left, Aqua and Ventus retreated to the serenity of the Summit. They sparred a little and once they finished, they couldn't find it in their hearts to leave. Instead, they chose to lie on the ground and stare at the sky until the sun set in the horizon and stars coated the endless sky.

"What did you tell the Masters?" Ven asked as he glanced over at Aqua. His words were the first spoken since Terra left.

"The truth; that Terra didn't feel like he could stay here and that he didn't really want any part of this; that he went back to do what he set out to do; what he has done for the past three years," Aqua replied softly as her eyes tried to count each and every star shimmering in the dark blue sky.

"How did they take it?" he questioned, shifting his arms behind his head to make a more appropriate pillow.

"Fine, I suppose. They didn't seem to surprised," she responded and gave one of her shoulders a shrug.

Ventus sighed. "Why did you tell him he could go?"

Aqua winced.

"I didn't really tell him he could_ go_… I just said that he didn't have to stay…"

"But why?"

"Because," she answered, her tone exasperated. "I didn't want him to stay because he felt that he had to. I wanted him to stay because he wants to…"

"He would have stayed if you asked. He suggested that you had given him permission to—"

"I know," the young woman interrupted coarsely.

"Look," she said when she realized how harsh she was being. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap like that…I just… I just didn't want him to feel obligated. Even though Yen Sid basically said this was _'obligational'_, I still didn't want to coerce him into anything, obligational Keychain or not. It just wasn't what I wanted. It_ isn't_ what I want and I know it isn't what he wants either."

Ven decided that Aqua was almost as stubborn as Terra was, if not more so.

"You know, I still don't know what he meant when he said that the stars were just like me," Ventus mused aloud to lighten the mood. "He said I was too young to know then and I always thought once I was old enough, I'd understand, but I still don't."

Aqua smiled at the memory of their last night together. "You can ask him when he comes back, when all of this is over…"

"Do you think we will ever find…_them_?"

"Yes. They have unfinished business with...us." Aqua didn't want to say '_you.'_ "I use to think they would find others to torment in our place since we didn't really work out but then I remember that…he has to have you."

"Unless he made another Ventus and Vanitas," the blonde wielder said darkly.

Aqua sat up briskly and looked down at him. "Do you think he would do that?"

"I wouldn't put it past him. I don't remember much from before I was brought here, but I _do _remember he was a relentless Master…and we all know what he was planning on doing three years ago. Not to mention what the Master told us. He said Xehanort was always like that. That he could never let things go." Ven stared blankly at the sky.

Aqua hated when he talked like that. It was so unlike him and it reminded her how all of this impacted him. She wasn't the only one haunted by memories and nightmares. Ven was haunted too. _Each_ of them had their own personal demons.

"Have you remembered anything else?" Aqua asked timidly and resisted the urge to coddle him. He wasn't a child anymore and she continually had to remind herself of that even though, to her, Ven would _always_ be the sweet, innocent boy Xehanort brought to them.

"Mostly training sessions with him. Lots of yelling and condemning." Ventus sighed as he sat up and ran a hand through his hair.

Instinctively, Aqua pulled him into a hug.

Oh, how she wished that he never had to go through that. She couldn't even imagine what that would feel like. Aqua had nightmares but that was all they were, nightmares. Ven's nightmares were _real_. They were his memories and most of them were far from pleasant. Sometimes they came to him in the form of dreams or nightmares, and sometimes the simplest things like certain words, phrases, or movements triggered them. Once, Aqua said the word 'feckless' and it sent him into a fit. She_ never_ uttered that vile word again.

"Whoa!" he chuckled when Aqua embraced him. "Not that I mind, but what's the occasion?"

"I'm sorry," she whispered into this neck.

"For?" asked Ven with another laugh.

"For everything. That you had to go through that…and just… For everything."

"Why?" Ven patted her back. "It's not your fault."

"I know but I still hate it and I want to take it all away…I just want it all to go away…" Aqua squeezed him tighter, searching for comfort and solace against him while attempting to offer it to him at the same time.

Ven was at a loss for words, which was odd. He usually had a response for _everything,_ but at that moment, he couldn't think of anything that wasn't clichéd or anything that he hadn't already told her a thousand times over.

To keep himself from saying something that would sound forced or trite, he just continued to return her embrace. Besides, Aqua hugs were always welcome and always made everything a little bit better.

Aqua gave an empty laugh as she pulled away and placed a lock of blue behind her ear. "Terra was right…I really am a girl sometimes…"

Ven grinned. "Well you are a girl so I guess we can forgive you for acting like one from time to time. Just don't make a habit of it!"

"I'll try not to." Aqua flashed a small smile.

"So, I was thinking I would go to the Keyblade Graveyard to look for Xehanort," she said as she regained her normal air and demeanor. "Terra recommended that we do so. Do you want to come with me?"

"Normally I would but I don't think I should go there… You know, since Yen Sid and Eraqus think that the Keyblade Graveyard might be the only place the χ-blade can be forged. Not to mention I ran into Vanitas the last time I was there…"

"Right. You don't have to say anything else. I understand. I should have known better than to ask. I'll go alone." the blue-haired Master quickly stated as she shook her hand back and forth passively.

"You sure? I bet Mickey would be happy to go with you," the young man suggested as he leaned back onto his elbows.

"No. That's not necessary. I can take care of myself and I hate to bother him. He has a lot to deal with anyway. You know, being a King and all."

Ven nodded. "So when will you go?"

"As soon as possible. The sooner we find Xehanort, the sooner we can put an end to all of this."

* * *

Terra hadn't been back in his normal routine long, but his head was already exploding. He had, had a chronic headache since he left the Land of Departure and it had done nothing but worsen as time passed.

The brunette tried to search for clues to Xehanort's whereabouts in Radiant Garden but all he could do was walk around in a daze and attempt to not get sick in one of the fountains.

He could hardly function for the headache much less search for clues. Even if he did manage to find a clue, he wouldn't be able to do anything with it. His brain was too busy ruthlessly smashing against his skull to concentrate on anything.

A trip to another world was also on his mental to do list for that day, but all he could do was surrender to the severe neuralgia and gracelessly stumble back to Traverse Town.

Hopefully, he could make it back to his hotel room, get in bed, and sleep off the migraine he was experiencing. He would just have to make up for lost time the next day because he_ clearly_ wasn't capable of functioning at present.

Everything around him was blurry. No matter how much he blinked or tried to focus, everything around him was hazy, the dim street lights, the pedestrians, the towering buildings, the glowing doors that led to the hotel, the front desk, _everything_.

Unable to take another step, Terra collapsed against one of the walls of the hotel's suddenly crooked hallway.

The whirling wallpaper appeared to be throbbing and drawing ragged breaths with him as he pressed his aching forehead to the walling.

Terra didn't fall or tumble to the ground but he did use the wall for some much needed support. He didn't have the strength to continue his perilous journey to his room without it.

He ghosted along the wall like a blind man, using his hands to see where he was going as well as the numbers and emblems on the room doors.

When he finally crashed into the familiarity of his door he fondled the handle until the door gave, causing him to violently plummet to the floor with a grunt.

It was getting worse. How on earth a headache as monstrous as the one pestering him now could possibly get worse was beyond him. He thought the only way the perpetual headache could get worse was if his head blew clean off his shoulders.

He was wrong.

Terra crawled along the floor and managed to get his entire body into the hotel room before ultimately getting sick on the floor.

Was he dying? Maybe he had a brain tumor. What if he had been blowing off something terminal?

If he was capable of hearing the tiny voice in his head, it would have suggested that the headache could be some of that unimaginable suffering Master Yen Sid had warned him of; suffering caused by him neglecting fate's call, the Keychain, and ultimately Aqua.

Whatever the cause, he supposed it didn't matter now because it seemed like whatever it was had finally caught up with him and could possibly take his life soon.

Death wasn't a new concept to Terra but he certainly didn't think that this was how he would go. He always thought he would go down in some epic battle or die sacrificing himself for his friends, something epic and grand. He _never _thought he would die in a hotel room face down in his own sick.

When the pain subsided and he realized he_ wasn't_ about to die, Terra managed to get back to his feet. He wandered to his medicine cabinet and grabbed an armful of Hi-Potions and Panaceas, spilling a few and dropping a few more on the floor as he stumbled back to the center his living quarters. Clumsily, scattered the remaining medications that weren't in shattered pieces on the floor out along his table.

The bronze warrior collapsed into a nearby chair and stared blankly at his stash.

At this point, he wondered if it would even work. Maybe he needed professional help. Did he need to go to an infirmary, a clinic, or an asylum?

He wasn't sure what he needed to do but before he did anything he would have to get some relief and the only way he knew how to do that was by downing as many Hi-Potions and Panaceas as he could.

Terra wiped his mouth off with the back of his hand and proceeded to slowly drink a Hi-Potion. It didn't do much but he could feel a difference. At least he didn't feel like he had one foot in his grave anymore.

He reclined and rubbed his disgruntled temples as if he could rub his ailment away.

After chugging a few mixtures, Terra felt like he could finally trust his legs again.

He decided he should probably clean his vomit and all the broken bottles of medicine off the floor so he unhurriedly rose to his feet and walked towards his cabinet that held the towels.

Slowly, he began picking up all the broken glass and discarding it in a nearby trash can. Once the visible glass was gone, he got onto all fours and began attempting to scrub his floor clean. He wasn't trying to make it spotless, he just wanted it to be somewhat presentable. He just wanted the majority of the mess gone. The maid could take care of the rest.

Cleaning his floor made him miss Aqua. Three years ago he would have just gone after her and gotten her to help him, and she would have done so gladly with a warm smile on her face. She was always helping him clean up his messes... She was better at cleaning messes while it seemed like all he could do was make them.

With a heavy sigh, Terra leaned back on his haunches to inspect the state of his floor. It wasn't spotless but it would do.

He carelessly threw the dirty towels onto a heap of dirty clothes by his door and hobbled back to his feet. He decided that was enough cleaning for the moment and decided that his next task should be to sleep off what remained of his head trauma. He would worry about the mess more later. All he wanted to do now was rest.

Terra shifted on his feet and turned to walk to his bed, but before he could reach his destination, it felt as if someone had stabbed him through the back of his skull with a scalding hot poker.

The Keyblade bearer wailed and held his tormented head in his hands as he mercilessly fell to his knees.

His muddled vision was filled with flashes of images as he held his eyes tightly shut and waited for the assault to cease.

Pictures of the Keyblade Graveyard rapidly flickered behind his eyes.

He saw blinding blinks of golden eyes, baby blue eyes, corroded Keyblades, bloody sand, and Unversed.

Voices and noises invaded his ears until his hands moved from head to his ears to drown out the miserable sounds.

The twitchy, shrill cry of the Unversed clawed at his eardrums while voices fought for dominance within his ear canals.

_'Come out, you freak!'_

'_Want to know something else I've outgrown? You!'_

_'The legend says that if one of the keys along the Keychain dies, the remaining key will die too.'_

'_I've…I've done it…he's…he's finally finished…Ven…Terra, you can rest easy…' _

"Aqua…?" Terra mumbled and grabbed fistfuls of his hair.

He could hear his heartbeat in his ears and it was so loud he hardly noticed that there was a second heartbeat in his ears. It was softer, fainter and it was slowing down rapidly.

His vision was filled with a warm, familiar blue. Blue hair, blue eyes, blue clothes, and finally, a blue Wayfinder stained with blood.

The second heartbeat stopped.

"_Aqua!"_ Terra cried as he leapt to his feet and bolted out the door.

* * *

Aqua had never been to the Keyblade Graveyard before. She only visited it in her nightmares, and as she walked through this desolate world, she was glad she had never truly laid eyes on it before. It wasn't a pleasing sight to behold.

The Keyblade Graveyard was a barren wasteland, full of nothing but ghosts and dust, a place where nightmares were made.

The longer she was there, the more she wished Ven had come with her or that she had taken his advice and asked Mickey to investigate with her. That world did nothing but give her the creeps. It was quiet there, way too quiet. The only sound to be heard was the abnormal, perpetual wailing of the harsh otherworldly wind.

There was no life in this world, only death or remnants of death. There were no birds, no animals, no flora, and no people. The vast emptiness and arid atmosphere left her feeling hollow and idle. The dead ambiance of this world was harrowingly contagious.

As she started out at the endless fields of dead keys, she could almost hear their cries calling out to her from the lamented earth they slept within. They begged for an unreachable peace that she couldn't give them.

There were so many of them. It was hard to imagine a time when there were so many Keyblade bearers around when they were all but extinct now. The only ones she knew outside of her small family were Mickey, Vanitas, and Xehanort.

Aqua knelt down in front of three Keyblades that appeared to be connected at their apexes as they delved into the splintered terrain. She couldn't help but be curious about those that once wielded the Keyblades before her. They were wielders and Masters just like she and her friends were. Had they fought side by side or had they fought against one another? Were some of them bound by Keychains? Who were they before the Keyblade War ripped them apart?

Anyone that would lust for the rebirth of that war couldn't be anything less than a monster.

"I'm sorry," Aqua apologized as she ran her fingertips down the worn hilt of the ancient Keyblade. "I can't undo the past, but I won't let this happen again. This tragedy will not be repeated. I promise."

With a sigh, Aqua rose to her feet and took her Wayfinder in her hand as she scanned the desolate area around her. She didn't even know where to start looking for Xehanort and his lackeys. This world was huge and there were places to hide _everywhere_.

_This might take a while… _

Aqua really hoped that if they were there, she could sense their darkness. She could sense them before but it had been so long she was afraid she might not sense it as she once had. Then again, it would be hard to forget darkness that ghastly…

* * *

The Land of Departure was always quiet when Aqua was gone. Ven liked it better when she was there and it wasn't just him and the Master wandering the grounds. If Aqua was there, he was rarely alone for long periods of time and being alone for a long time was something he wanted to avoid if at all possible.

When Ventus was alone, he had a tendency to remember things or hear things… Before either could occur, he considered going to Radiant Garden to visit Lea and Isa but he wanted to wait for Aqua and make sure that she returned safely. He needed to be where the Master could let him know immediately if something happened and she needed him. Her safety and wellbeing was much more important than any unpleasant memory he might experience. The painful reminiscence, while unpleasant, would end but he would never forgive himself if something happened to Aqua because he wasn't there for her when she needed him.

Aqua was an excellent Master. She was very talented and more than capable of taking care of herself, but he couldn't help but worry about her. She had never gone to the Keyblade Graveyard before.

With a heavy sigh, Ven fell onto his bed and folded his arms behind his head. Maybe he could take a nap. That would probably keep the memories at bay and would keep him from getting stir crazy and ridiculously bored.

"_**Ventus…Ventus…" **_echoed an eerily familiar voice the instant Ven's ultramarine eyes closed.

The gruff, raspy voice bounced off the walls of his skull and it sent shivers down his spine. The blood drained from his face and his heart felt like it was being pulled down into the soles of his feet as his eyes ripped open.

"No. No. Not now! _Get out of my head_!" Ven cried in desperation and covered his ears as if it would keep him from hearing the voice that reverberated inside his cranium.

The blonde boy knew very well whom the voice belonged to. This wasn't the first time his brain had been violated by his dark twin, but this was the first time it happened without Aqua being around and he didn't know where the Master was. He would never find a sanctuary in time…

"_**Fine… I just thought you would want to know that we have decided to get rid of Aqua. She was such a pain last time and she really has done nothing but get in the way…so we are taking care of her. You don't have to worry about your little mother bossing you around and bitching at you anymore**_."

"Shut up!"

"_**Better hurry, Ventus, or you'll never see Aqua again."**_

Ventus recognized the haunting words easily… It was the same exact thing _he_ said to him three years ago, but instead of using Terra as bait, he was using Aqua. If he didn't know any better he would have thought this was a memory in and of itself, but he did know better. He knew that this _wasn't_ a memory and it _wasn't_ a joke.

He didn't answer the contemptible voice inside his head. Instead, he grabbed the Wayfinder in his pocket, leapt off his bed, and ran out of his room.

* * *

It felt like Aqua had been running around this hellish world for days. Time seemed to have no consequence there and everything seemed to look the same. The only difference she could see was that some craters were larger than others and some mountains were higher than others.

Her eyes burned from all the dust and dirt being blown through the contaminated air. She felt disgusting and she was growing tired. She would have to call it a day soon. There was only so much aimless wandering a person could take. If she had to, she would come back the next day, but only if she and Master Eraqus thought it necessary. Unless she had to, Aqua didn't plan on revisiting this contemptible place anytime soon.

Just as Aqua was about to adorn her body in armor and mount her glider, she heard a familiar shriek.

At first, she thought she was merely imagining it, but it wasn't long before she sensed it as well.

_Unversed. _

Aqua's whole body went rigid and her breath snagged in her throat as she slowly turned to confront the monsters she knew were behind her.

There were dozens of them, mainly Floods, Bruisers, and Scrappers, but there were some savage breeds that she had never laid eyes on before. Some were big, some were small, but_ all of them_ were hostile.

Rainfell was summoned into Aqua's hand and she took an offensive stance as she watched them continually pop and claw their way out of the lifeless earth.

Having no preference, she began striking down the ones nearest her first. She would vanquish one after another but they continued to reproduce. One would fall only to be replaced by two more. They were not being slain fast enough for her to decrease their numbers.

As she fought the ceaseless hoard, she recalled what Yen Sid had informed them of. Terra told him that Xehanort said that Vanitas controlled the Unversed, which meant…

"Come out, you freak!" Aqua shouted as she defeated another Unversed.

"_You know, that isn't a very nice way to greet someone_," replied a low, husky voice.

Aqua's blue eyes darted around the area until she saw the masked boy, Vanitas, lazily walking through his swarm of Unversed towards her. They cowered around his feet as he heedlessly glided over their forms. It was like he was walking on air. He was bone-chillingly graceful and poised but somehow fierce within his long, powerful strides.

The haze of the dirt filled wind around them made him look even more like an unsettled apparition; an unnerving ghost from the past. It was as if he walked right out of her memories or slithered out of her nightmares.

He had finally crossed the blurred line between her imagination and the real world and busted through the barriers that contained him strictly within her mind and waltzed right into the present, into a cruel reality.

"I was always under the impression that you were the polite, rational one. I guess I was wrong," Vanitas scoffed.

He was bigger, which didn't bode well for her. He wasn't a pushover when he was fifteen, she didn't want to know what he was capable of now. Physically, Vanitas was a mirror image of Ven, which meant he had grown ever bit as much as he had…

"This is the part where you make some snarky, arrogant remark. Remember?" The masked boy folded his arms and tapped his foot impatiently at her. "Or are you too busy gaping at me to come up with one?"

Aqua simply narrowed her eyes at him.

"Oh, strictly business now, are we?" he inquired mischievously.

"I've outgrown the games. I no longer see the point in tossing needless quip back and forth," she snapped.

"I can tell, but, damn, time has _not_ been good to you. You look like hell. You actually look a little tired. You should try sleeping. It's good for you."

Aqua held her tongue. She refused to be goaded into a frenzy. That was what he wanted. He wanted to get under her skin, get her all worked up so she would get sloppy.

"Oh, that's right," Vanitas chuckled darkly. "You've _'outgrown the games.'_ That's fine. I've outgrown a lot of things too."

She took a step back when he summoned his menacing Keyblade.

"We all have," he snarled. "After all, it_ has_ been three years."

Aqua's eyes didn't leave his form as he began taking confident yet menacing steps toward her.

"Want to know something_ I've_ outgrown?" he asked when he was arms length away from her.

The female Keyblade Master dug her feet into the ground and prepared for the struggle she knew was about to occur.

"_You!"_ Vanitas howled as he charged at her.

Grunts erupted from their throats as their Keyblades clashed and ground against one another.

It wasn't until they were a breath apart that she realized how much bigger he was than her. Vanitas loomed over her and attempted to overpower her by using pure strength. His new fighting style almost reminded her of Terra's. Vanitas didn't used to fight this way, but he was assuming that because he was bigger than her now, he could overpower her.

He was wrong.

Aqua knew how to handle larger, stronger opponents. Terra had practically been her sparing partner her whole entire life. She was accustomed to battling larger opponents that favored strength and she knew for a fact it took a lot more than sheer strength to defeat an adversary.

The dark young man underestimated her. Big mistake.

She quickly backed away and gracefully shifted to the side, causing Vanitas to lose his balance and stumble forward. The movement was swift and precise but the masked boy recovered instantly and countered.

Vanitas had gained height and girth but had clearly not lost any of his impressive speed. He struck again and again and again and all Aqua could do was dodge and block. She was lucky that no one was faster or more nimble than she was. However, he was strictly offensive which made her strictly defensive. If this pattern continued, she would never defeat him.

Aqua was forced to use barriers and magics in order to fight him. Being a Mage would prove useful since she couldn't get close enough to him to land effective physical blows with her Keyblade.

It was like a dance, a sick, twisted, never-ending dance, one she had almost forgotten all the steps to. Her neglect and carelessness would cost her dearly. She wasn't used to opponents like Vanitas anymore; she would admit it.

"Our little_ vacation_ has made you weak!" Vanitas taunted as they continued exchanging savage blows. "Peace has made you soft! You aren't nearly as tough as you used to be. I shutter to think of how pathetic Ventus must be."

The young woman with cerulean eyes responded with a Mega Flare to his stomach, damaging him and the hoard of Unversed that loomed around them.

The crimson warrior reeled and groaned in pain but didn't fall. "Uh-oh! Someone doesn't like it when I talk about their sweet little Ventus!"

Again, she didn't respond with words. She was done talking. She would let Triple Blizzaga tell him how much she didn't like it.

Vanitas blocked two of the icy blasts but took the third to through his shoulder.

"You know, if I didn't know any better, I would think that _Ventus _was the one you share a Keychain with," he sneered as rolled his damaged shoulder and lunged at her yet again.

Aqua recoiled emotionally and physically as his words and the hilt of his Keyblade ruthlessly struck her in the stomach.

All the breath in her body made a violent retreat as she absorbed the intense blow. She bowed over in pain as she tried to cough and gasp for air at the same time.

As Aqua continued to recoil from the impact, Vanitas began shooting wave upon wave of darkness at her. The darkness clawed at her skin and threatened to rip her apart. The darkness was thick, hot, and overwhelming. It burned her down to her very core. His darkness was so profuse and immense that she didn't even notice the Unversed had been called forth again. The blows were occurring so quickly and the damage was so ravenous that she couldn't even tell what was hurting her anymore.

The Keyblade Master held her damaged abdomen as she cautiously backed away from Vanitas and his onslaught. When she finally broke out of the barrage of darkness and Unversed, she eyed the menacing boy intently yet cynically.

"That's right. We know that you and Terra are bound by a Keychain," he continued as he and his Unversed closed in on her.

If she could breath properly, she would have asked him how they knew, but then she remembered in one of the reports, Xehanort stated that sometimes Vanitas could feel actually what Ventus felt…

Aqua continued to gasp for breath and back away from Vanitas until she reached the cliff's ledge. Her foot slipped off the edge and she whimpered as she struggled to regain her balance.

"It's…_sweet," _he spat. "But completely worthless. That shoddy link won't do either of you any good. I mean look at what it's done to you? Isn't that thing supposed to protect you? _Obviously,_ it doesn't work."

Her eyes narrowed and she gripped Rainfell's hilt so tightly her knuckles turned white.

The blue maiden regained her footing and swiftly charged Vanitas again.

"Hey! Let's have a little experiment!" he jeered although she had gained the upper hand and he was taking remorseless blows from Rainfell.

_Nothing fazes him...! _

"The legend says that if one of the keys along the Keychain dies, the remaining key will die too," Vanitas continued mocking her and Aqua knew if he weren't wearing his helmet she would see a wolfish grin and flared fangs.

He slung his Keyblade at her relentlessly as his Unversed nipped at her heels. In one swift motion, Aqua cast Glacier to put some distance between her and her attackers but once the spell dispersed, a scrapped, frost-kissed Vanitas was right on top of her.

The morbid Keyblade fell toward her quickly and Aqua was able to summon a Barrier, but the attack was so strong the Barrier spell dispersed like glass, sending Aqua, Vanitas, and countless Unversed reeling.

The young woman fell onto her back from the sheer force of the hit and the explosion.

As quickly as she could, she rolled onto all fours and leapt behind a nearby stone pillar to block his next attack.

"Or was it that they go completely crazy if their counterpart dies?" he howled as his Keyblade stabbed into the rocky column just as it wanted to stab through her.

Aqua winced at the unpleasant sound of metal brutally grinding into stone as she hid behind the rock.

"I'm not sure which, but that is what our little experiment is for!" he laughed manically while he wretched his Keyblade out of the pillar she had used as a shield. "Too bad you won't be around to see the result, but when we take care of Eraqus, I will be sure to tell him to tell you what happened to your precious Terra after you died!"

His laughter and mockery came to an abrupt halt as Rainfell harpooned him to the towering boulder.

"That won't be necessary," Aqua informed emotionlessly as she yanked Rainfell's tip out from between his dark shoulder blades. "By the way, I'm not still hiding behind the rock."

The instant her Keyblade left his back, he spun around coarsely and sliced his Keyblade right through her abdomen.

Aqua wailed and stumbled backwards a few steps before crouching down onto one knee, her Wayfinder falling out of her pocket as she sank to the ground. Instinctively, her hands went to her damaged torso and she felt the warm liquid leaking from her body and caressing the cool skin of her hands. The diagonal wound across her abdomen was deep. She could feel that long before she began trying to heal herself with Curaga.

Vanitas chortled darkly one more time before collapsing onto his back where he grew disturbingly still. The instant their master stilled, the Unversed dispersed and became the dust that savagely swirled around the tainted world.

When Vanitas fell and Aqua was sure he and his Unversed were defeated, all her strength left her and she plummeted face first to the unforgiving ground.

"I've…I've done it…" she breathed, weakly raising her head to ensure the demon had not risen. "He's…he's finally finished…"

Her head lobbed over and fell back onto the rugged terrain, holding her desecrated stomach with one hand as she frantically attempted to mend it with Curaga.

"Ven…Terra…you can rest easy." She smiled and closed her eyes.

It was getting dark and it was getting cold. She was going into shock and her restorative spells alone weren't enough for this wound. She couldn't stop the bleeding and she was very tired, but that was okay. If she died, she died in order to protect her friends. She wouldn't die in vain.

Ven and Terra would take care of Xehanort. Now that Vanitas was gone, the χ-blade was no longer a possibility. All they had to do now was put and end to Xehanort and his scheming. They could do it then they would go on to become the amazing Masters that she always knew they could be. They would be heroes and they would live amazing lives.

Vanitas…Vanitas was wrong…Terra wouldn't die if she did…he wouldn't go crazy without her… Everything would be fine now…

_Everything will be fine now… _

Her blood stained the golden ground beneath her. The blood mingled with the hardened ground and poured into the cracks of the uneven terrain as her crimson fluid turned maroon against the sand.

With lifeless eyes, she watched the red liquid slowly seep from her body and casted Curaga upon herself over and over again until her nerves were scraped raw.

Eventually, the pain from the wound in her stomach and the pain of over casting was too much. She hadn't the strength to cast anymore… The wound was finally mending, but she had lost too much vital fluid and conjuring would only weaken her further and push her to the end faster. At this point, she was doing more harm than good.

Aqua's eyes opened to see that her Wayfinder had been hurled from her pocket during the struggle. It was just out of her reach but she wanted it…she needed it…she needed to say she was sorry.

The blue-haired Master crawled on her belly like wounded serpent, leaving a winding trail of vermillion in her wake.

With the last of her strength, she reached out and took the Wayfinder in her trembling hand.

_I'm sorry…Terra…Ven…_

* * *

**_A/N: Thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed the delayed chapter! _**


End file.
